Real 'Watch Dogs': Ubisoft hacked as millions of users exposed

Video game publishers Ubisoft have announced that they’ve been hacked, exposing the data of millions of users. The French company relayed the news in somewhat vague terms, warning users that “one of our Webs sites was exploited to gain unauthorised access.”

They were, however, up front about the possible dangers, admitting that the data that was accessed included “user names, email addresses, and encrypted passwords.” No information relating to credit and debit cards was accessed.

In a statement the company asked its users to change their passwords in response to the attack. "We also recommend that you change your password on any other website or service where you use the same or a similar password.”

"Ubisoft's security teams are exploring all available means to expand and strengthen our security measures in order to better protect our customers. Unfortunately, no company or organisation is completely immune to these kinds of criminal attacks,” said the firm.

This has not been an isolated incident for Ubisoft, who were compromised back in April this year via a vulnerability in their Uplay software (the company’s distribution and community software). Uplay was also target of a hack last July, where a backdoor in the software’s browser extension was discovered.

Users may be annoyed at being forced to sign up to services like Uplay and expose themselves to such hacks in the first play, but publishers claim they need gamers to register with them firstly as an anti-piracy measure, but also so that they can offer additional content to consumers.

Many commentators have also noted the irony that one of Ubisoft’s most hotly anticipated games this year is Watch Dogs – a title starring hacker vigilante Aiden Pearce. Ubisoft even brought on board a security expert from Kaspersky to ensure that Pearce’s hacks were accurate.