150907-increase-in-account-compromises

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Hi folks,
 
We wanted to inform you that we’re seeing an increase in the number of customer support contacts related to compromised accounts. We have been analyzing the situation, as well as the affected accounts being reported to us, and NCSOFT accounts are being targeted through use of account credentials obtained from data theft at other online services.
 
If a login and password are used across multiple services, a compromise at any of them creates an opportunity for account theft on all of them.
 
It’s critically important that you not only use different passwords across sites and services, but that you regularly change your passwords as well.
 
We’ve placed temporary bans on some accounts in the hopes of protecting you, our customer. If you receive a notice that your account has been banned, please contact us at support@ncsoft.com to verify ownership and change your password. 
 
If you’ve used the same password for your NCSOFT account anywhere else (or haven’t changed it in a while), we recommend you change your NCSOFT account password to one that is not shared with any other online accounts. Here are some tips on constructing a good password:
 
Use a unique password for every account.
Do not share passwords across accounts.
Do not include common words, especially words like “password” or “user.”
Use a mixture of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.  Or use four to six words that have no relation to each other.
 
We’re continually monitoring this kind of activity and are working to improve our own security measures. We ask that account holders take precautions to ensure their credentials are unique, complex, and secure.
 
Thanks to everyone who has added to the discussion on the topic so far.	
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