Blizzard Accounts Hacked 2012: Is Your Battle.net Info Safe? 5 Tips To Keep Your Account Secure

Blizzard Entertainment, the developer behind PC gaming sensations "Diablo" and "World of Warcraft," has warned players that personal information may have been leaked. The company was recently targeted by a network hack, but no financial information is believed to have been stolen.

In a statement, Blizzard said that some email addresses, personal security question answers and authentication details were extracted before the unauthorized access was blocked.

On Thursday, Blizzard Co-Founder and President Mike Morhaime wrote that law enforcement had been contacted and the security breach is under investigation, PC World reports. Hackers have obtained email addresses for Battle.net users outside of China, and affected regions include North America, Latin America, Australia, New Zealand and Southeast Asia.

In North America, some information relating to mobile authenticators was obtained as well as cryptographically scrambled versions of passwords belonging to players. However, this is not enough information to actually access a user's Battle.net account.

"At this time, we've found no evidence that financial information such as credit cards, billing addresses, or real names were compromised," Morhaime wrote. "Our investigation is ongoing, but so far nothing suggests that these pieces of information have been accessed."

Blizzard implements technology specifically made to protect the passwords of its users, but still advises that Battle.net users change their passwords.

"We use Secure Remote Password protocol (SRP) to protect these passwords, which is designed to make it extremely difficult to extract the actual password, and also means that each password would have to be deciphered individually. As a precaution, however, we recommend that players on North American servers change their password...Moreover, if you have used the same or similar passwords for other purposes, you may want to consider changing those passwords as well," Blizzard posted.

This attack was initially identified on Aug. 4, and the company has been working to "re-secure our network" before proceeding "simultaneously on the investigation and on informing our global player base."

Here are a couple of tips and guidelines to ensure that Battle.net users keep their information safe and secure.

1. Change Your Password. The most obvious safety precaution, but definitely worth doing. Click on the "Account" link at the top of the Battle.net page, or just click here.

2. Two Factor Authentication. Using a two factor log in authentication system give hackers one more hurdle to surpass when attempting to steal information. However, Blizzard has not yet enabled this feature, but it is likely to come with the next mobile app software update. For now, Blizzard does offer users two-factor authentication through a $6.50 keychain attachment.

3. SMS Protect. Another security option offered by Blizzard is called SMS Protect, which sends users a text message if suspicious activity is detected on a player's account.

4. EMail Security. It is crucial to review the security surrounding the email address used for a Battle.net account. Be sure that the password for this email isn't the same as the password used for the Battle.net website. Also, ensure that this email account's recovery options are up to date.

5. Phishing Emails. Be on the lookout for imposter emails claiming to be from Blizzard. The company will never ask a user for his or her password or log-in information via email.