Legal News

Steam customers may have had their credit card details stolen after hack
Mon 14th Nov 11 - 11:28

Michael Forrester, Intellectual Property Solicitor

It was reported today that Steam, the popular streaming service, customers may have compromised credit card numbers and other personal information after its database was breached by hackers.

The Steam difficulties are similar to the Sony Network problems last year. As with any situation like this, the full effects of the breach in security will not be known for some time.

Consumers are urged to check their credit and debit card details carefully. Any unrecognised transactions should be reported to the relevant financial institution immediately, in accordance with the duty to mitigate losses.

Incidents like this also provide a reminder to organisation holding data on the duties they owe.

Standard terms and conditions, data management policies and compliance with the complex mesh of regulations need to be periodically reviewed.

A number of regulations may apply to this situation, depending on the exact facts. This includes data protection laws, contract provisions, consumer protection regulations, negligence, as well as the criminal sanctions against computer hackers. We will be monitoring the information published to see which of these rules become relevant to this incident.

If Steam customers believe their personal and/or financial details have been used unlawfully, they should contact Ralli's specialist intellectual property and information technology team, iSolicitors, on dataprotection@ralli.co.uk