Over the last month, Nintendo Switch Online account owners have been reporting cases of unauthorized access to their accounts. After investigation, Nintendo has acknowledged the situation. An official statement from Nintendo Japan has also shed further light on the issue.
Nintendo Switch Online accounts work similarly to PlayStation Network and Xbox Live Accounts, so it is clear to see why any breach of security would be an issue. Whether it be direct login attempts or unusual purchasing activity, account owners for Nintendo’s online community have been noticing that something’s off.
Several days ago, Nintendo acknowledged the situation and offered a recommendation to users. This was that users should opt for the two-factor account authentication where possible. Further advice has been given from third-party sources to suggest that any payment options linked to these Nintendo Switch Online accounts should be severed, at least for the time being.Â
Table of Contents
Two-factor authentication is an excellent (and easy) way to bolster the security of your Nintendo Switch Online account.
Many authentication processes use SMS text as the second factor, with Nintendo using Google Authenticator currently. There’s an app you can get for this, and it generates a unique code that acts similarly to how a second password for the account would be used.
Aside from reinforcing the advice to use two-factor authentication for your account, the main information that can be gleaned from the statement is related to the volume of the issue. Around 160,000 accounts could be at risk. This includes the nickname, date of birth, and email address of users. As it stands, Nintendo believes that this is the only information that has been accessed. So far, credit card information remains safe. However, if you have had something purchased on your account without your knowledge, you can contact Nintendo to get it canceled here.
If you want to see the official statement from Nintendo Japan yourself, you can here.
For more of the latest gaming news, reviews, features, and more from the Gamezo team… Be sure to follow @GamezoGG and check out Gamezo.co.uk. Be sure to stay safe, and it might be a good idea to change your Nintendo Switch Online account password.
