According to the latest reports currently circulating online a hacker could have gained illegal access to the servers of Steam, the content distribution system of Valve Software, creator of such prominent game titles as Half-Life and Counter-Strike. The hacker, calling himself MaddoxX, posted a message on an anti-Valve Internet forum on April 8. In this message he presented supposed proof of the break-in, such as Valve’s private financial details.

Other information in his post related to the company’s Cyber Café program, which allows cybercafe owners to run Valve’s games. According to the hacker, he gained access to private financial information, such as credit card and transaction details. In a message to Valve he also threatens the company with releasing all of its customers financial details into the public domain, potentially putting millions of people at risk.

So far there has been no official comment from Valve, which has lead to speculations from some quarters about a possible cover-up. Allegations have also been made that any threads regarding this issue that were posted in the official Steam forum were being deleted almost instantly. However, it is thought that the silence may be related to the ongoing investigation of these claims, which, if true, could pose a serious problem for Valve and its customers.