Square Enix Warns Final Fantasy Players to Change Passwords After Hacking Attempt

Final Fantasy 14 players who haven't updated their login credentials in a while may want to consider doing so soon following a hack attempt directed at Square Enix's account management system. Square Enix cautioned as much this week by saying that it noticed it was "experiencing an attack" where someone was trying to gain access to users' accounts via login info gained elsewhere. If this trend continues, Square Enix said it might make it so that every user has to reset their password.

Based on what Square Enix described in a post on Final Fantasy 14's Lodestone site, this wasn't a hacking attempt where someone was trying to lift passwords and emails from the Square Enix account management system itself but was instead one where people were trying to gain access to accounts using login credentials they'd obtained from other sites. Pretty much any website where you create an account will warn you not to use the same email and password combination that you've used elsewhere lest this exact sort of thing happen. As such, Square Enix would love it if you'd reset your password in light of this attack if you happen to be using the same one somewhere else.

So, what's Square Enix doing for the accounts that might've been affected by this? The publisher said it's "currently mitigating the effect of the attack by restricting access to accounts that we believe may have been compromised by unauthorized users" which means you might get an email asking you to reset your password if someone tried to gain access to your account. If this keeps up, the broader password reset might be initiated.

"Should we continue to experience rising numbers of unauthorized access attempts, a password reset for all Square Enix accounts may be initiated," Square Enix said in closing. "We would like to remind all users to be mindful of their account security in order to protect personal information and data."