Was Merge Poker Crash Worse Then They Say

Sunday November 30,2014 :  DID MERGE POKER TECHNICAL PROBLEM BREACH PLAYER PRIVACY?
 
Was the cure worse than the original problem?
 
Forum tales by poker players claim that in the wake of a technical crash at the Merge network last week they were not only financially prejudiced whilst in the midst of a tournament, but on auto-login post-crash some were returned to another player's gaming session.
 
Players' concerns following the brief server crash were initially about monetary compensation, but the forums then took a more alarming turn with allegations that in some way player accounts had been mixed up, with a consequent unintentional violation of personal privacy.
 
Some players claimed on the twoplustwo forum that they were even able to indulge in some real-money action on other players' accounts, implying that financial as well as personal information was at risk.
 
Several tournaments at Merge skins were in progress when the server crash occurred, and the operators have in general been punctilious in finally making good on the basic financial prejudice suffered by individual players, but the apparent security flaw is now regarded by many as a more serious issue, and one that deserves answers.
 
One skin – Carbon Poker – tried to assuage player fears by having its spokesman make forum posts assuring them that the crash had been of very short duration following a server re-start in the early hours of the morning, and that only a limited number of players who used the auto log-in setting had been affected by the strange experience of entering another player's gaming session.
 
The spokesman stressed that very few players were affected by the glitch, and that enquiries were being made, with measures already taking place to contain the glitch and insure against any recurrence.