PCMag editors select and review products independently. If you buy through affiliate links, we may earn commissions, which help support our testing.

League of Legends Hacked, User Data 'Compromised'

 & Chloe Albanesius Executive Editor, News

Our team tests, rates, and reviews more than 1,500 products each year to help you make better buying decisions and get more from technology.

Our Expert
LOOK INSIDE PC LABS HOW WE TEST
65 EXPERTS
43 YEARS
41,500+ REVIEWS

Riot Games is requiring League of Legends players to update their passwords after a breach "compromised" usernames, email addresses, salted password hashes, and some names.

There's a chance that some credit card information was also accessed.

"Password files are unreadable, but players with easily guessable passwords are vulnerable to account theft," Riot Games said in a blog post.

The attack affected users in North America, the company said.

Approximately 120,000 transaction records were also accessed, which contained hashed and salted credit card numbers. The payment system in question has not been in use since 2011 and Riot has not collected this type of information for more than two years.

The company is contacting affected users via the email address they have on file, though players can also reach out directly. "Our investigation is ongoing and we will take all necessary steps to protect players," the firm said.

In the meantime, Riot has imposed a mandatory password reset. Players will be automatically prompted to reset their passwords when they sign in, or they can do so manually.

To secure its systems, Riot is putting in place two new security measures: email verification, which will require new and existing players to provide a valid email; and two-factor authentication, which will require email or SMS verification for changes to account email or password.

About Our Expert

Chloe Albanesius

Chloe Albanesius

Executive Editor, News

My Experience

I started out covering tech policy in DC for The National Journal, where my beat included state-level tech news and all the congressional hearings and FCC meetings I could handle. I later covered Wall Street trading tech before switching gears to consumer tech. I now lead PCMag's news coverage.

My Areas of Expertise

Getting my start in DC means I still have a soft spot for tech policy; Congressional hearings can sometimes be as entertaining as a Bravo reality show, for better or worse. But PCMag is all about the technology we use every day, as well as keeping an eye out for the trends that will shape the industry in the years ahead (or flop on arrival). I've covered the rise of social media, the iOS vs. Android wars, the cord-cutting revolution that's now left us with hefty streaming bills, and the effort to stuff artificial intelligence into every product you could imagine. This job has taken me to CES in Vegas (one too many times), IFA in Berlin, and MWC in Barcelona. I also drove a Tesla 1,000 miles out west as part of our Best Mobile Networks project. Of late, my focus is on our hard-working team of reporters at PCMag, guiding and editing their robust coverage.

Read full bio