A class action lawsuit has been filed against World of Warcraft developer, Blizzard, over its Battle.net Authenticator. Being led by Benjamin Bell, the lead plaintiff, the lawsuit argues that players were “deceptively and unfairly” charged for the Authenticator.
Players can buy the Authenticator as either a physical object or download it. It is meant as a security tool to further protect a player’s account data.
Pointing directly at the $6.50 keychain Authenticator, the suit states that Blizzard has earned $26 million from sales of the tool, seeing it as a form of additional costs for players. Bell and others part of the complaint are seeking damages for “consumer fraud, unjust enrichment, negligence, breach of contract and bailment”. It argues that players must use online accounts to play Blizzard titles and that the company pushes for players to obtain security enhancements instead of developing upon security features for user accounts.
“Defendants negligently, deliberately, and/or recklessly fail to ensure that adequate, reasonable procedures safeguard the private information stored on this website. As a result of these acts, the private information of plaintiffs and class members has been compromised and/or stolen since at least 2007”, stated part of the lawsuit.
As support for its claims, the lawsuit included the hacking of Battle.net on August 4 of this year and claimed that private data from users worldwide was compromised.
IGN contacted Blizzard who responded with the following: “This suit is without merit and filled with patently false information, and we will vigorously defend ourselves through the appropriate legal channels.
“We want to reiterate that we take the security of our players’ data very seriously, and we’re fully committed to defending our network infrastructure. We also recognize that the cyber-threat landscape is always evolving, and we’re constantly working to track the latest developments and make improvements to our defenses.
“The suit’s claim that we didn’t properly notify players regarding the August 2012 security breach is not true. Not only did Blizzard act quickly to provide information to the public about the situation, we explained the actions we were taking and let players know how the incident affected them, including the fact that no names, credit card numbers, or other sensitive financial information was disclosed. You can read our letter to players and a comprehensive FAQ related to the situation on our website.
“The suit also claims that the Battle.net Authenticator is required in order to maintain a minimal level of security on the player’s Battle.net account information that’s stored on Blizzard’s network systems. This claim is also completely untrue and apparently based on a misunderstanding of the Authenticator’s purpose. The Battle.net Authenticator is an optional tool that players can use to further protect their Battle.net accounts in the event that their login credentials are compromised outside of Blizzard’s network infrastructure. Available as a physical device or as a free app for iOS or Android devices, it offers players an added level of security against account-theft attempts that stem from sources such as phishing attacks, viruses packaged with seemingly harmless file downloads, and websites embedded with malicious code.
“When a player attaches an Authenticator to his or her account, it means that logging in to Battle.net will require the use of a random code generated by the Authenticator in addition to the player’s login credentials. This helps our systems identify when it’s actually the player who is logging in and not someone who might have stolen the player’s credentials by means of one of the external theft measures mentioned above, or as a result of the player using the same account name and password on another website or service that was compromised. Considering that players are ultimately responsible for securing their own computers, and that the extra step required by the Authenticator is an added inconvenience during the log in process, we ultimately leave it up to the players to decide whether they want to add an Authenticator to their account. However, we always strongly encourage it, and we try to make it as easy as possible to do.
“Many players have voiced strong approval for our security-related efforts. Blizzard deeply appreciates the outpouring of support it has received from its players related to the frivolous claims in this particular suit.”
(Via IGN and Courthouse News)