Hackers breach Electronic Arts, stealing game source code and tools
Hackers have broken into the systems of Electronic Arts, one of the world's biggest video game publishers, and stolen source code used in company games.
Hackers claimed to have
obtained 780 gigabytes of data from EA (EA), including the Frostbite source
code, which is the game engine that powers the FIFA, Madden, and Battlefield
series of video games, among others.
The hackers claimed to offer "full capability of exploiting
on all EA services." They also claimed to have stolen software development
tools for FIFA 21 and server code for player matchmaking in FIFA 22.
Brett Callow, the cybersecurity expert and a threat analyst
at Emsisoft, said losing control over source code could be problematic for EA's
business. "Source code could, theoretically, be copied by other developers
or used to create hacks for games," he said.
"Anytime source code gets leaked it's not good,"
said Ekram Ahmed, a spokesperson for the cybersecurity firm Check Point.
"Hackers can comb through the code, identify deeper flaws for exploit, and
sell that previous code on the dark web to malicious threat actors."
"We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion
into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools
were stolen," the EA spokesperson said. "No player data was accessed,
and we have no reason to believe there is any risk to player privacy.
Following the incident, we've already made security
improvements and do not expect an impact on our games or our business. We are
actively working with law enforcement officials and other experts as part of
this ongoing criminal investigation."
The data breach was first reported by Vice, which cited some
of the same forum posts. The EA spokesperson confirmed that EA's statement is
in response to the breach Vice reported.
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