While usually a safe place for fans, recently, the Valheim official Discord server was hacked, exposing players to a potentially harmful link and creating all sorts of issues for developer Iron Gate. The situation was out of control but is slowly being rectified with hard work.
Most games have an official Discord server, and Valheim is no exception, thanks to its massive, bustling community. There, players are able to chat with official moderators assigned by Iron Gate and get information straight from the horse’s mouth instead of hearsay and rumors. However, the recent Valheim official Discord server hack showed just how deadly such an incident can be for a community when a small group with ill intentions manages to break through all security measures.
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How Was the Valheim Discord Hacked?
When the Valheim Discord server was hacked on January 29, 2024, a group of individuals gained control over moderator accounts, spammed a link with a harmful file inside for users to click on and download, and attempted to delete several internal channels.
While this was clear to almost every player at the time, it was later confirmed in the game’s community tab on Steam. The official Twitter account for the game also shared what had happened and has asked for patience from fans in the meantime.
At the time of the hack, players were reporting so many messages about the link the hackers posted that they had to leave the server. After Iron Gate regained control, it pulled back access to the server so nothing else could be posted in there.
As of January 30, 2024, Iron Gate is still investigating what happened and will alert users when the Valheim official Discord is back up and running. The game’s community has been solid since its release in 2021, and the developer no doubt wants to restore this line of communication as soon as possible.
Do I Need to Do Anything About the Valheim Discord Hack?
The only thing players and members of the Valheim Discord need to do is follow this instruction. “Please do not click on any links sent on the Discord! Currently, the .gg/valheim Discord invite leads to one of the hijacker’s servers. Do not join or interact with them in any way”.
The file mentioned above leads to a download that could damage a player’s computer or scrape their personal data and files. It’s dangerous, and no one should be clicking on it. This file was spammed in the Valheim Discord hack and is probably the main reason that the hackers wanted to get in. With all the data stolen, they could be stealing money or selling that data for a profit.
Is the Valheim Discord Still up?
Yes, the Valheim Discord server is still live. However, at the time of writing, the server was restricted until the developer is sure it has found and expelled every hacker account. This means that no new players can join the server.
However, this will almost certainly change in the future once the moderation team is sure every hacker is gone and implements a few new security measures to avoid this ever happening again. After all, this is where many updates for the game are often treated or announced before they’re seen anywhere else.
