Game-maker Electronic Arts and the Presque Isle Police Department in Maine are responding to an event they had both been dreading: the theft of gigabytes of private data by hackers who breached their Internet-connected networks.
In EA’s case, the theft included 780GB of source code and tools for FIFA 21, according to a post published earlier this week on an underground crime forum. The person who published the post, with the username Leakbook, was offering to sell the data.
“You have full capability of exploiting on all EA services,” the person wrote.
The post looks like this:
The post didn’t say how the source code was obtained, but in a statement, EA officials said the company experienced a network compromise that allowed an intruder to make off with game source code and tools. The statement read:
We are investigating a recent incident of intrusion into our network where a limited amount of game source code and related tools were stolen. 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.
Separately, almost 200GB of private data belonging to the Presque Isle Police Department has been dumped online by a ransomware group known as Avaddon. The police department was hacked on April 18 and given 10 days to pay a ransom. The department was able to rebuild its network using data backups, and it declined to pay.
Earlier this week, Avaddon finally made good on its threats by posting the data on its website hosted on the dark web. The haul includes 15,000 emails, according to leak site Distributed Denial of Secrets, which is making the data available to journalists and researchers.
A review of the Avaddon site also showed a sampling of police reports and witness statements that date back to at least 2011. The files documented incidents of domestic violence, shoplifting, and physical assault and in many cases provided phone numbers, addresses, and other personal information belonging to victims and defendants.
The attacks hitting EA and the Presque Isle Police Department are the latest manifestations of a scourge that’s growing more pernicious than ever. Last month, ransomware attackers prompted major disruptions to gasoline and jet fuel supplies in the Southeastern US. Earlier this month, JBS, the largest US supplier of meat, temporarily shut down its US plants following a ransomware attack on its network.
