Japanese video game publisher Bandai Namco is likely a familiar name to a multitude of gamers. First founded in 2006, the company has since published some incredibly popular and successful titles. In 2022 alone, Bandai Namco has already seen the titan of success that is Elden Ring hit shelves, and later this month another of its major games will be released, the highly anticipated Digimon Survive. While being a popular and well-known company in the gaming industry certainly has its perks, it can also make a big publisher or developer the target of cyberattacks.
According to a group known as vx-underground, which monitors malware source code online, Bandai Namco is the latest large gaming company to be targeted by a ransomware attack. According to vx-underground, a ransomware group known as ALPHV or BlackCat has claimed responsibility for an attack on Bandai Namco, adding the publisher to its list of victims. BlackCat claimed in the past that it was ramping up its attacks, and if its demands for millions of dollars from companies aren't met, it has been known to release employee data.
Bandai Namco has not yet released a statement confirming or denying whether it has been hacked, but vx-underground has successfully reported on ransomware attacks in the past before they were officially confirmed by the company. Nvidia's recent cyberattack, for example, was covered by vx-underground before the graphics card creator made an official statement on it being hacked.
While it isn't known what could be leaked by BlackCat should the hacking group decide to share private information, people are expecting that, considering Bandai Namco is a gaming publisher, its release schedule could be unveiled. Something similar happened to Capcom when it was hacked in 2021. Years of upcoming titles were leaked ahead of their scheduled announcements, leading to the Street Fighter and Resident Evil publisher having some of its biggest reveals spoiled.
While upcoming games being leaked before they are announced may not sound too bad, many gamers find that it essentially spoils the atmosphere of an official reveal. More importantly, this also puts the personal data of Bandai Namco employees at risk. Unfortunately, this isn't the only time a gaming company has been hacked recently. As stated, Nvidia and Capcom were also struck by ransomware attacks, and early in 2021, Cyberpunk 2077 developer CD Projekt Red was hacked, which resulted in game data from Gwent: The Witcher Card Game being posted to social media.
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