ESEA hacked, leaking 1.5 million gamers' records
Up to 90 fields of data have been stolen, according to LeakedSource
The personal details of more than 1.5 million E-Sports Entertainment Association (ESEA) members have been stolen following a hack in December.
Information such as registration date, city, state (or province), last login, username, first and last name, bcrypt hash, email address, date of birth, zip code, phone number, website URL, Steam ID, Xbox ID, and PSN ID may have been obtained by the hackers according to breach notification service LeakedSource.
The organisation told its users about the hack shortly after it happened and then reminded them on 30 December before releasing a statement the day after LeakedSource announced the data had been stolen.
"Recently news has been made that ESEA's user data has been leaked online," ESEA said. "We expected something like this could happen but have not confirmed this is ESEA's data. We notified the community on December 30th, 2016 about the possibility this could happen. The type of data and storage standards was disclosed."
The security breach was part of a ransomware attack, according to LeakedSource. The hacker reportedly asked for $50,000 in payment and in exchange, they would help ESEA patch the vulnerability it used to break into the association's systems.
ESEA has not revealed whether it gave in and paid the hackers or just reset user passwords, multi-factor authentication tokens and security questions to protect their users' identities.
"We have been working around the clock to further fortify security and will bring our website online shortly when that next round is complete," the organisation said, adding, "this possible user data leak is not connected to the current service outage."
Sign up today and you will receive a free copy of our Future Focus 2025 report - the leading guidance on AI, cybersecurity and other IT challenges as per 700+ senior executives

Clare is the founder of Blue Cactus Digital, a digital marketing company that helps ethical and sustainability-focused businesses grow their customer base.
Prior to becoming a marketer, Clare was a journalist, working at a range of mobile device-focused outlets including Know Your Mobile before moving into freelance life.
As a freelance writer, she drew on her expertise in mobility to write features and guides for ITPro, as well as regularly writing news stories on a wide range of topics.
-
Enterprises can’t keep a lid on surging cyber incident costsNews With increasing threats and continuing skills shortages, AI tools are becoming a necessity for some
-
UK software developers are still cautious about AI, and for good reasonNews Experts say developers are “right to take their time” with AI coding solutions given they still remain a nascent tool
-
Volkswagen confirms security ‘incident’ amid ransomware breach claimsNews Volkswagen has confirmed a security "incident" has occurred, but insists no IT systems have been compromised.
-
The number of ransomware groups rockets as new, smaller players emergeNews The good news is that the number of victims remains steady
-
Teens arrested over nursery chain Kido hacknews The ransom attack caused widespread shock when the hackers published children's personal data
-
NCA confirms arrest after airport cyber disruptionNews Disruption is easing across Europe following the ransomware incident
-
Cyber professionals are losing sleep over late night attacksNews Hackers are biding their time and launching attacks when businesses can’t respond
-
Prolific ransomware operator added to Europe’s Most Wanted list as US dangles $10 million rewardNews The US Department of Justice is offering a reward of up to $10 million for information leading to the arrest of Volodymyr Viktorovych Tymoshchuk, an alleged ransomware criminal.
-
Jaguar Land Rover “did the right thing” shutting down systems to thwart cyber attackNews The attack on Jaguar Land Rover highlights the growing attractiveness of the automotive sector
-
Ransomware attack on IT supplier disrupts hundreds of Swedish municipalitiesNews The attack on IT systems supplier Miljödata has impacted public sector services across the country