Foundations of Cyber Security
4064CEM
Coursework 1
Student information
Nintendo Security Breach (24 April 2020)
Nintendo Security Breach (24 April 2020)
In April 2020 there were over 160,000 users that were affected due to a breach that
happened within the system. In this period, it meant that the users that had their data
stored within the database had their Login Credentials stolen from them. The hack went on
from April until June. Over 160,000 Nintendo accounts were hacked in April going forward,
as the investigation went on there were another further 140,000 breaches that happened
since the investigation started. Many fraudulent purchases happened in the process after
the company Nintendo had to refund the users. Nintendo stated that no evidence within
their databases could provide evidence of the breach. However, they did mention that there
was evidence of fraudulent processes, furthermore, they have taken strict measures to
ensure no further damage to the business. Nintendo has not published the method of how
the security breach happened. However, it is shown that the possible methods could have
been through phishing attacks. A phishing attack is a method of social engineering where
the hacker will ask the victim for their information and data but in a way that makes them
think it is the real company. For example, sending links usually via email to the victim to the
Nintendo website however it is just a clone website. Any data or information that the victim
enters here will be sent to the hacker’s database. Using these malicious links can turn into
terrible things both for the company and the victim. 90% of the time it is used to steal credit
card details and fraudulent payments. To prevent something like this from happening you
must not be clicking on links that you are unsure of or links that were not requested. Using
two-factor authentication is always very important when it comes to account security. This
makes sure so when you log in to your account that you get a code sent to your smartphone
to confirm that it is you using the device.
When looking at the incident from an outsider’s view, there are a few methods of security
that Nintendo could have improved on to prevent this security breach from happening. For
example, using two-factor authentications (2FA) ensuring that the user trying to log in is the
4064CEM
Coursework 1
Student information
Nintendo Security Breach (24 April 2020)
Nintendo Security Breach (24 April 2020)
In April 2020 there were over 160,000 users that were affected due to a breach that
happened within the system. In this period, it meant that the users that had their data
stored within the database had their Login Credentials stolen from them. The hack went on
from April until June. Over 160,000 Nintendo accounts were hacked in April going forward,
as the investigation went on there were another further 140,000 breaches that happened
since the investigation started. Many fraudulent purchases happened in the process after
the company Nintendo had to refund the users. Nintendo stated that no evidence within
their databases could provide evidence of the breach. However, they did mention that there
was evidence of fraudulent processes, furthermore, they have taken strict measures to
ensure no further damage to the business. Nintendo has not published the method of how
the security breach happened. However, it is shown that the possible methods could have
been through phishing attacks. A phishing attack is a method of social engineering where
the hacker will ask the victim for their information and data but in a way that makes them
think it is the real company. For example, sending links usually via email to the victim to the
Nintendo website however it is just a clone website. Any data or information that the victim
enters here will be sent to the hacker’s database. Using these malicious links can turn into
terrible things both for the company and the victim. 90% of the time it is used to steal credit
card details and fraudulent payments. To prevent something like this from happening you
must not be clicking on links that you are unsure of or links that were not requested. Using
two-factor authentication is always very important when it comes to account security. This
makes sure so when you log in to your account that you get a code sent to your smartphone
to confirm that it is you using the device.
When looking at the incident from an outsider’s view, there are a few methods of security
that Nintendo could have improved on to prevent this security breach from happening. For
example, using two-factor authentications (2FA) ensuring that the user trying to log in is the
