EA: Gaming website hacked and source code stolen

[Naijablog]

IMAGE COPYRIGHTGETTY IMAGES
Hackers have stolen valuable information from major game publisher Electronic Arts (EA), the company said.
The attackers claimed to have downloaded source code for games such as FIFA 21 and for the proprietary Frostbite game engine used as the base for many other high-profile games.
News of the hack was first reported by news site Vice, which said some 780GB of data was stolen.
EA said no player data had been stolen in the breach.
ADVERTISEMENT

The firm is one of the largest games companies in the world. It counts major series such as Battlefield, Star Wars: Jedi Fallen Order, The Sims, and Titanfall among the titles it develops or publishes - as well as a vast array of annual sports games.

'No risk to players'​

"We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools were stolen," an EA spokesperson said in a statement.

"No player data was accessed, and we have no reason to believe there is any risk to player privacy," she added.
The company said it had already improved security and stated that it did not expect "an impact on our games or our business".
Law enforcement has also been contacted.
The "network intrusion" was not a ransomware attack and had happened recently, EA added.
In its report, Vice said it had seen screenshots of the hacking forums used by the attackers, who are advertising the stolen data for sale.

Valuable hack​

Source code is a version of computer software which is usually much easier to read and understand than the end version in a finished product, and could be used to reverse engineer parts of the product.

For example, the Frostbite engine, which hackers claim to have the source code for, is a powerful game creation tool used in dozens of games, from FIFA to the Battlefield series and several recent Star Wars games from EA.
The source code for the engine could hold significant value for an unscrupulous developer willing to copy it, or for those making cheat codes and hacks for games.
But it is unlikely that any mainstream competitor to EA would ever use such stolen data.
It is the latest in a string of high-profile gaming company hacks.

EA: Gaming giant hacked and source code stolen

Game data and source code were both stolen by hackers, but no player data, EA said in a statement

www.bbc.com