Blizzard addresses Diablo 3 hacking concerns, offers security options

Amidst reports of Diablo 3 accounts being hacked, Blizzard has finally addressed the issue.  While acknowledging that a new game release often results in an increase of account compromises, Blizzard remains confident in their security measures and has encouraged users to take full advantage of the Battle.net Authenticator, an optional tool that provides a unique code necessary to logging in every time.

"We'd like to take a moment to address the recent reports that suggested that Battle.net and Diablo III may have been compromised," Blizzard community manager Stephanie "Lylirra" Johnson began. "Historically, the release of a new game — such as a World of Warcraft expansion — will result in an increase in reports of individual account compromises, and that's exactly what we're seeing now with Diablo III."

"We know how frustrating it can be to become the victim of account theft, and as always, we're dedicated to doing everything we can to help our players keep their Battle.net accounts safe — and we appreciate everyone who's doing their part to help protect their accounts as well."

Johnson went on to say that the Battle.net Authenticator and Battle.net Mobile Authenticator (a free app for iPhone and Android devices) "continue to be some of the most effective measures we offer to help players protect themselves against account compromises, and we encourage everyone to take advantage of them."

Blizzard also introduced a new service called Battle.net SMS Protect.  This allows you to use your text-enabled cell phone to unlock a locked Battle.net account, recover your account name, approve a password reset, or remove a lost Authenticator.

Johnson reassured worried Diablo 3 players that Blizzard does have "other measures" built into Battle.net to help protect players.

"Occasionally, when Battle.net detects unusual login activity that differs from your normal behavior — such as logging in from an unfamiliar location — we may prompt you for additional information (such as the answer to one of your security questions) and/or require you to perform a password reset through the Battle.net website," she explained.

It sounds as if Blizzard is holding the players accountable for the Diablo 3 hacks – like it's our fault for not using the authenticator which Blizzard seems to swear by.

"Despite the claims and theories being made, we have yet to find any situations in which a person's account was not compromised through traditional means of someone else logging into their account through the use of their password," community manager Micah Whipple, aka Bashiok, added. "While the authenticator isn't a 100% guarantee of account security, we have yet to investigate a compromise report in which an authenticator was attached beforehand."

Regardless of who is at fault in this situation, he did assure fans that Blizzard is taking the situation "extremely seriously" and is doing "everything possible to verify how and in what circumstances these compromises are occurring."

Of course, if you have been a victim of Diablo 3 hacking, head over to the Battle.net security page for what to do.