"A Message from KingsIsle - Wizard101 Broadcast System Breach"

[Dylan Windwalker]

I still think it's only going to go downhill from here. Cybersecurity and Hacking is only going to get more complex and dangerous in the near future and I'm not sure that Ki the capabilities to get ahead of the game. Nor is there less of a reason that the player in question who did this once before would try again later, much of what Ki does is under pressure of scrutiny and complaints that often end unheard, and it's reasonable at some point a player would get fed up with this type of corporate behavior. It might even be the case that Ki is fanning the flames onto themselves, giving that player an extra challenge to overcome rather than Ki being under the impression the problem is over. And the more hackers that challenge the Ki security systems, the more people that may idolize them into a following since again they could think these types of problems are well deserved.

Also throwing in incentives, I'm not sure if that was a good move (in the assumption that they wouldn't have done this if the game wasn't hacked, which I'm not sure because Birthday stuff usually revolves around these membership benefits). It could be giving hackers the assumption that they only need to hack the game to get Ki down into their knees and give everybody a win in benefits. That's only going to cause hackers to hack more often and that's the worst possible scenario. The best thing that Ki could do is give hackers less reason to do hacking in the first place and they have yet to do that. A better message would involve finding the player responsible and punishing them, which we are still unclear about. Did they find the person responsible? Is the punishment enough to make other hackers think "it's not worth the challenge"?

I'm not trying to exaggerate the situation but my concern is that Ki thinks they're off of thin ice when they really aren't because at this rate, the future is against them.

[Willowdreamer]

I still think it's only going to go downhill from here. Cybersecurity and Hacking is only going to get more complex and dangerous in the near future and I'm not sure that Ki the capabilities to get ahead of the game. Nor is there less of a reason that the player in question who did this once before would try again later, much of what Ki does is under pressure of scrutiny and complaints that often end unheard, and it's reasonable at some point a player would get fed up with this type of corporate behavior. It might even be the case that Ki is fanning the flames onto themselves, giving that player an extra challenge to overcome rather than Ki being under the impression the problem is over. And the more hackers that challenge the Ki security systems, the more people that may idolize them into a following since again they could think these types of problems are well deserved.

Also throwing in incentives, I'm not sure if that was a good move (in the assumption that they wouldn't have done this if the game wasn't hacked, which I'm not sure because Birthday stuff usually revolves around these membership benefits). It could be giving hackers the assumption that they only need to hack the game to get Ki down into their knees and give everybody a win in benefits. That's only going to cause hackers to hack more often and that's the worst possible scenario. The best thing that Ki could do is give hackers less reason to do hacking in the first place and they have yet to do that. A better message would involve finding the player responsible and punishing them, which we are still unclear about. Did they find the person responsible? Is the punishment enough to make other hackers think "it's not worth the challenge"?

I'm not trying to exaggerate the situation but my concern is that Ki thinks they're off of thin ice when they really aren't because at this rate, the future is against them.

I think that for our own mental health, we need to stop worrying so much about what is clearly out of our control. Going down these rabbit holes can be more stress-inducing than we need in our lives.

[Sierra SeaSong]

The game is probably at least 4 years past its shelf life, so at least there is still a game? I can not be bothered, whatever happens, happens, if my account blows up so be it, I can finally quit for good lol.

[Dylan Windwalker]

The game is probably at least 4 years past its shelf life, so at least there is still a game? I can not be bothered, whatever happens, happens, if my account blows up so be it, I can finally quit for good lol.

Dang I felt that lol

[Kokyota]

The game is probably at least 4 years past its shelf life, so at least there is still a game? I can not be bothered, whatever happens, happens, if my account blows up so be it, I can finally quit for good lol.

If only!
I think of Wizard101 as my personal “Hotel California”. We are all gathered in the Commons – such a lovely place.

- - - Updated - - -

People like us have access to every single member benefit there is. Get your grinding ready, @Kokyota! This week is going to get busy for all of us.

Yes, I’m grinding away for Azoths - ugh!
I’m patience, I’m supportive am I deserving of a Reagent-Bone - LOL.

[AluraMist]

Yes, I’m grinding away for Azoths - ugh!
I’m patience, I’m supportive am I deserving of a Reagent-Bone - LOL.

Did you redeem the code for three free Azoth? "Novus Forming" Image posted (& a code)

[Kokyota]

Did you redeem the code for three free Azoth? "Novus Forming" Image posted (& a code)

Yes, I got them. Thank you for the post!

[LookitLight]

Did you redeem the code for three free Azoth? "Novus Forming" Image posted (& a code)

I did. Now to let everyone else on my Guild know. Free progression!

[MasterRampage]

what happened, I didn't notice any messages coming through, what time during that day did it happen?

From the Wizard101 social media site and Message Boards:

Attachment 655123

This past Friday the Broadcast System of Wizard101 was inappropriately accessed for a brief amount of time. Our sincere apologies for the disruption to your gameplay.
Please read our complete response and resolution to the incident on our forums: https://www.wizard101.com/forum/head...303714d?page=1

A Message from KingsIsle - Wizard101 Broadcast System Breach

Community,

This past Friday the Broadcast System of Wizard101 was illegally accessed to post inappropriate messages in-game as if they were written by a KingsIsle employee. We sincerely apologize for the unacceptable statements making their way into the game and causing disruption of your gameplay. We take great care in ensuring Wizard101 is a family-friendly game and feel disheartened when someone finds a way to disrupt that experience.

The incident was quickly identified, and steps were immediately taken to halt the behavior. We turned off the Broadcast System and have added additional security measures to ensure this won’t happen again. At this time, we believe that an external party initiated the messages through a non-traditional method of accessing the Broadcast System. No other systems were accessed.

Considering the incident has soured your celebrations of the birthday month, we want to close out September with a bang. From now until the end of the month, we are enabling all Member Benefits and granting Membership to all players. Both will be enabled for EU players as well.

Thanks to everyone for your patience and support as we resolved this unfortunate incident.

“If the Mind is like a candle, the Heart is like the sun.” Professor Falmea (aka Leah Ruben, your fearless Game Director!)

[Sierra SeaSong]

what happened, I didn't notice any messages coming through, what time during that day did it happen?

Someone hijacked the broadcast system on Friday night and had some fun spamming nonsense and vulgar language. You can search for details it got quite a bit of coverage.