Unknown Hackers Attack US Major Game Maker, Steal Source Code - Spokesperson

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 11th June, 2021) Unknown hackers intruded into the systems of major US-based game maker Electronic Arts (EA) and allegedly stole 780 gigabytes of data including game engine source code that powers FIFA, Battlefield and others, a company spokesperson said on Thursday.

"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 as quoted by CNN. "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."

The EA spokesperson said the breach was not a ransomware attack while the criminal investigation by law enforcement is still ongoing.

The intrusion took place on June 6 and resulted in a group of hackers getting "full capabilities of exploiting on all EA services," according to the report, including software development tools for FIFA 21 and server code for player matchmaking in FIFA 22.

Last week, the White House announced that President Joe Biden launched a rapid strategic review to address the mounting challenge of ransomware attacks. The most recent one targeted the meat-producing giant JBS USA in late May and led to the closure of its facilities across the country. The US administration believes some of the members belonging to the hacker groups reside in Russia.