EA Exposed for Data Breach on FIFA Sign-Up Page
EA was doing so well this week with the huge Season 3 update to Apex Legends, with a brand-new character and map shocking the fading title back to life with a vengeance.
They followed it up with the unveiling of the FIFA Global Series, six Champions Cup tournaments, two Majors, and a few other small competitions, all leading towards the FIFA eWorld Cup, with a total of $3 million in prize pool earnings across the year for 2020.
The hype wouldn’t last. Users trying to sign up for qualifiers for these tournaments realized you could get access to the private information of whoever had just applied’s EA accounts. This includes their name, account name, and birth date, amongst other pieces of data.
Popular FIFA streamer Kurt caught wind of the situation quickly and has threatened to sue EA for gross negligence on their part.
Fans across the community quickly rallied behind the call. They expressed extreme frustration and disappointment with EA, spilling beyond just the data breach and attacking the company for the minimal changes year to year and mocking the apparent incompetence of the company.
EA Response to the Data Breach
EA was quick to react to the data breach, taking the page down as soon as they became aware of the problem and releasing a statement saying,
“We’re aware of a potential issue affecting the registration page for the EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series that went live earlier today. We take these matters seriously, and we immediately took down the page while we investigate the matter. We’ll share updates as soon as possible.”
The company has yet to note if there will be compensation for affected users. Anything they offer will likely pale in comparison to the price they’ll have to pay to the EU legal system.
Europe’s GDPR provides a very secure storage of user’s private information by companies. If EA can’t prove the breach was not due to negligence, they could face a fine of $20 million or 4% of their revenue for the last year, whichever is higher.
We’ll have to see how things shake-out over the next couple of weeks. Their failure to secure the data accurately is nothing new, and only the latest chapter in the data breach trouble plaguing companies over the last several years, including Sony’s infamous data breach for the PlayStation Network.
We’ll continue to keep you all updated as the situation develops, so stick with us.
Comments