Fighting in Rift (Trion)
Trion’s Rift has been suffering from account hacks and hijacks since launch, resulting in many frustrated players getting robbed of their gold and valuables. Trion’s own Scott Hartsman responded to Rift‘s security trouble in a recent update, and while the tone of the report was positive, he stresses that account security is a complex and ongoing issue.
At the heart of the security compromise was a login bug in the server code, which has been corrected. Hartsman assures the community that no personal information was leaked, nor were the servers, networks, or databases penetrated. A new security measure – the Coin Lock – has been implemented to prevent someone from accessing accounts from new (computer) locations. An account that is Coin Locked cannot sell, trade, auction, or (pretty much) handle items until a validation code, sent via e-mail from Trion, is entered. With the login bug fix also came an expansion to the Coin Lock system, which now also prevents accounts that are locked from deleting characters.
According to Hartsman, these account compromises have affected 1% of accounts. While the Coin Lock and the login fix have helped in reducing these hacking incidents, Trion urges players to stay vigilant and be careful with their information. More people are being hired to help with these issues, and Trion is currently working on a “two-factor authentication” system, which they expect will be available soon to alleviate security problems.
