According to vx-underground, the ALPHV hacker group is said to have infiltrated Bandai Namco and attacked the system.
By breaching the company’s network security, the group claims to have successfully “ransom” with the Japanese game maker.
Ransomware is software that systematically enters and encrypts all files and information on a system or systems. Then, when the process is complete, those responsible will redeem the information back to its owner. This has been a popular form of blackmail over the past decade.
Despite the surprising news, this is not the first ransomware attack on a game company. In 2020, Capcom was compromised by an attack, followed by attacks on Electronic Arts and CD Projekt Red in 2021. All three companies refused to pay the ransom.
We’re not just talking about the game in these attacks. Hacker groups take as much information as possible and encrypt it. In the past, these attacks have leaked employee information, company finances, and more to the public.
Bandai Namco has not yet commented on the matter. Vx-Underground was one of the first to know about a similar attack against Nvidia in March last year.
Bandai Namco is an international video game publisher. Bandai Namco’s video game franchises including Ace Combat, Dark Souls, Dragon Ball, Soulcaliber, etc. are well known to many players.
Bandai Namco Entertainment was established on March 31, 2006, following the company merger between Namco and Bandai. Originally known as Namco Bandai Games, has merged Bandai Games and Namco Networks to create Namco Bandai Games America. Namco Bandai Games took over Banpresto in 2008 and dissolved Bandai Networks in 2009.
Development was spun off into a new company in 2012, Namco Bandai Studios (now known as Bandai Namco Studios), to help create faster development times and closer cohesion between development teams. develop. Namco Bandai Games was renamed Bandai Namco Games in 2014 and again to Bandai Namco Entertainment a year later.