Elden Ring: Bandai Namco targeted by a cyberattack? The editor is completely blocked

Published at 13/07/2022 at 23:51 By bxakid

A few days ago, several Twitter accounts specializing in hacking and computer security claimed that Bandai Namco had won a cyberattack. The publisher confirmed today that the attack was real and has since taken preventive measures.

Two days ago, several Twitter accounts specializing in hacking and computer security claimed that Bandai Namco, the publisher of Elden Ring or Soulcalibur, was the victory of a cyberattack. According to their allegations, a hacker group called BlackCat stole a lot of information and documents from the studio and demanded a ransom to unlock them. Bandai Namco confirmed today that the cyberattack did indeed occur.

Personal data at risk?

If apparently hackers failed to get their hands on information about the studio's upcoming releases, they still managed to get their hands on important data. The good news, if there is any, is that the cyberattack only affected the Asian branch of the company (excluding Japan). The studio nevertheless specifies that there is a possibility that the data collected by the hackers is personal data belonging to the players .

Since then, the company has opened an investigation to determine the extent of the damage and also intends to call on external companies to strengthen and improve the security of its systems.

ALPHV ransomware group (alternatively referred to as BlackCat ransomware group) claims to have ransomed Bandai Namco.

Bandai Namco is an international video game publisher. Bandai Namco video game franchises include Ace Combat, Dark Souls, Dragon Ball*, Soulcaliber, and more. pic.twitter.com/hxZ6N2kSxl
— vx-underground (@vxunderground) July 11, 2022

The ALPHV ransomware group (also known as the BlackCat ransomware group) announces that they ransom Bandai Namco.

The publisher has since reacted and published a press release via its official website.

On July 3, 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. confirmed that it had been the victim of unauthorized third-party access to the internal systems of several Group companies in Asia (excluding Japan). After confirming the unauthorized access, we took actions such as blocking access to servers to prevent further damage. In addition, it is possible that customer information of Toys & Hobbies business in Asian regions (except Japan) may be corrupted in servers and PCs. We are currently in the process of identifying the condition of the leak's existence, the extent of the damage, and investigating the cause. We will continue to investigate the cause of this incident and will release the results of the investigation as appropriate. We will also work with external organizations to strengthen security across the Group and take action to prevent this from happening again. We sincerely apologize to all involved for any complications or concerns caused by this incident.

(Source)

Not the first, and certainly not the last

Bandai Namco is not the first studio to have to deal with a cyberattack. In July 2021, 780 GB of data was stolen from Electronics Arts. Among the losses were the source code of FIFA 21, data on the Frosbite engine as well as frameworks.

But the one that probably hit the headlines is the one that touched CD Projekt. While the studio was already struggling with all the problems caused by the release of Cyberpunk 2077, it had to face a major cyberattack in early 2021. A hacker had stolen a lot of data, including some source code files as well as data from The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077. He had demanded a ransom, a ransom that CD Projekt paid. As a result, the data was auctioned on the dark web with a starting bid of $1 million with a proposed buy-it-now price of no less than $7 million.

The attack on Bandai Namco, as alarming as it is, is part of a new form of digital crime - causing malicious people to threaten the studios, their products and also consumers in the hope of extracting a lot of dollars from them. .

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