Elden Ring publisher reportedly targeted by a ransomware attack

Bandai Namco, the publisher of multiple award-winning titles like Elden Ring, is potentially suffering from a massive ransomware attack.

As first spotted by Kotaku, a malware monitoring group known as vx-underground made a post regarding the incident. Apparently, the hacker group ALPHV, better known as BlackCat, is behind it. 

“ALPHV ransomware group (alternatively referred to as BlackCat ransomware group) claims to have ransomed Bandai Namco,” vx-underground said on Twitter. The post also included a screenshot allegedly of BlackCat’s ransomware blog, indicating that Bandai Namco was targeted on July 11, 2022. 

Thus far, Bandai Namco hasn’t publicly acknowledged the apparent hack. GLHF has reached out to the publisher for comment but has not heard anything back. We’ll update the story should the company respond.

Ransomware is a specific type of malware that Black Hat hackers utilize to block data on a computer or network through encryption to get the victim a ransom fee. It’s an increasingly popular means of extortion in cyber security attacks. 

According to Forbes, at least 60 organizations worldwide have been attacked by BlackCat. Most notably, the group is believed to have a hand in the Colonial Pipeline incident last year among others.

There have been numerous high-profile hacks within the games industry in recent years. Capcom in 2020 arguably being the biggest, which resulted in upcoming titles such as Dragon’s Dogma 2 and Resident Evil 4 remake leaking years in advance.

Written by Kyle Campbell on behalf of GLHF.