Minecraft passwords leaked, Microsoft works to secure accounts

Servers of developer Mojang are still secure, owner Microsoft claims, and leak probably came from another kind of cyberattack

Minecraft has inspired the creativity of gamers and developers alike

The usernames and passwords of over 1,800 Minecraft players have been leaked online.

Microsoft is aware of the problem and has already worked to change users’ passwords and secure accounts, it said.

Given the relatively small number of account details that were leaked — more than 18 million people have bought the game, according to the company — the problem probably came from another attack. Usernames and passwords are often stolen through phishing attacks, where cybercriminals send users emails that look official and prompt them to log in, but harvest their details as they do so.

None of the Minecraft services or those of developers Mojang were compromised, Microsoft said.

"We can confirm that no Mojang.net service was compromised and that normal industry procedures for dealing with situations like this were put in place to reset passwords for the small number of affected accounts," a Microsoft spokesperson said.

"When we discover lists of gamertags, usernames and passwords posted online, we take immediate action to protect our customers by reviewing for valid credentials and resetting account access when necessary."

Microsoft bought Mojang, the makers of Minecraft, for $2.5 billion in September.