The popular free-to-play MMO Stalker Online has been the victim of a hack which saw its player database and user forum details stolen. Both are now up for sale on a hacker forum.
As VG247 reports, the hack was discovered by a CyberNews researcher who spotted the user records for sale on the hacker forum. The stolen database is thought to include 1,289,084 player usernames, passwords, email addresses, phone numbers, and IP addresses. The passwords are MD5 hashed and salted, though. As for the forum, 136,000 user records are thought to have been stolen, but there's no clear details yet as to the specific information taken for each forum member.
The good news is, the database has apparently been up for sale for around a month, suggesting there's not much in the way of value on offer. That's reassuring for players, but the fact their email addresses are included means being on-guard for scams. Also, a password change is being recommended just to be safe.
If you've never heard of Stalker Online, it's likely because the majority of players are located in Russia and eastern Europe. The game was developed by Australian company BigWorld Technology, which is owned by Wargaming, a company best-known for free-to-play online game World of Tanks. Stalker Online is an open-world post-apocalyptic survival MMO loosley based on the well-known Roadside Picnic novel written by Arkady and Boris Strugatsky.
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