FIFA 20 players were invited to register for the Global Series yesterday, something they might be very hesitant to do again. Upon starting the registration process, players were asked to verify their account details, but in some cases the details actually belonged to someone else.
The account verification screen revealed the email, date of birth, EA ID and country of residence of random players. George Hughs, former FIFA esports manager for North and Hashtag United, posted a screencap of the page, with details hidden, on Twitter.
My friend got a big pull in the Data Breach pack, Hashtag's own Algerian Arrow, @YaniOurabah.We'll send you a birthday card.What a mess. pic.twitter.com/IYMT1ieq4gOctober 3, 2019
EA says it took action 30 minutes after registration went live, taking down the page and starting an investigation. In a statement posted on Twitter last night, it confirmed that the problem has been fixed, adding that it's "confident that players will not see the same issue again."
Around 1,600 players may have had their personal details leaked to anyone who attempted to register for the Global Series yesterday, so it's a significant data breach. EA says it's in the process of getting in touch with players who have been affected by the leak.
An update on the EA SPORTS FIFA 20 Global Series registration page issue from October 3. pic.twitter.com/t5R6HwYd3IOctober 4, 2019
Despite the apparent fix, EA hasn't reopened registration. Who'd want to be the first person to take the risk? It will start up again in the coming days, however, with the EA Sports Twitter account notifying players when it's ready.
