Hackers Hit Electronic Arts in a Huge Data Heist

The entertainment industry has grown so much that every theft can make a perpetrator rich. This has led many people to try and breach the law for their own personal gain – some more successfully, other far less so.

Hackers Breached EA’s Defenses and Stole a Large Chunk of Data

Crimes, however, don’t only happen in the real world – with the extent of digitalization, stealing data from big companies has more profit potential than ever. On the same note, game development studio Electronic Arts just received a significant blow as hackers have struck the company. Once they broke through EA’s defenses, the wrongdoers were quick to get their hands on the valuable source code of several games.

The data robbery also provided the thieves with the source code of the Frostbite engine as well as all the necessary tools. Battlefield 2042, the newest iteration of the first-person shooter franchise, is based on that very same engine.

If that wasn’t enough, the heist also got the hacker’s hands full of data about EA’s framework and software development kits.

On top of it, they stole matchmaking server data for FIFA 2021 of the popular football series. Motherboard, VICE’s own tech journalists and experts, followed the hackers’ steps to some shady sites where the wrongdoers solemnly announced that now all the power to exploit EA services is in the players’ hands.

Evaluation of the Damage Done

The total of stolen data caps at 780 gigabytes – more than half a terabyte. The hackers will now proceed to sell everything in the same underground sites where they proudly announced their plunder.

Electronic Arts spoke with VICE Motherboard and confirmed that the hackers didn’t lie and that everything they claimed to have stolen was indeed taken away in the data robbery. EA is currently investigating the case. A spokesperson described the stolen data as a “limited amount” which may indicate that the damage isn’t dire. EA proceeded to reassure fans that no player data was lost in the heist and there isn’t any risk for players’ privacy.

EA was quick to learn from the incident and reinforced its defenses. The company has confidence that the stolen data won’t impact its games or its business. However, EA will still persecute the wrongdoers and is already in contact with representatives of the law who will be conducting an investigation.

On a positive note, EA firmly believes that no irreparable damage has been done. The company’s servers are still functioning as usual with no unexpected issues. Moreover, according to VICE’s Motherboard, the information is still on sale but isn’t in much demand.

We are yet to see what happens with the perpetrators and if they get what they deserve but it is a relief to hear that the harm isn’t that serious.