Pac-Man publisher Bandai Namco hit with ransomware

It's the latest in a series of attacks targeting game publishers

A ransomware group claims to have attacked Japanese video game producer Bandai Namco, making it the latest target of ransomware attacks on major video game companies - although the publisher has yet to confirm the claims.

An organisation called 'vx-underground', which monitors malware source code online, was the first to share the details of alleged hack.

Vx-underground said ransomware group ALPHV, also known as BlackCat, had claimed responsibility for the attack.

Bandai Namco - publisher of many well-known gaming titles including Dark Souls, Elden Ring and Pac-Man - has not officially admitted the breach occurred, but vx-underground has a history of reporting on ransomware incidents before the victims acknowledge them.

A post by BlackCat indicated that it would release data from Bandai Namco's servers 'soon', although gave no hints about the kind of data it had stolen or the amount of money it was demanding.

There are concerns that the attackers may have taken personally identifiable information on Bandai Namco staff, as well as information about users.

The company also faces the risk of a leak of internal documents like staff communications, confidential deals and video game source code, although this is speculation.

In the past BlackCat has published confidential employee information online when victims refused to pay up.

Cyberattacks on major video game companies have become common in recent years.

Companies such as CD Projekt Red, Capcom, and Electronic Arts have all been the victims of ransomware attacks in the past two years.

Late in 2020, Capcom came under attack after information on some of their planned unannounced releases became public.

CD Projekt Red, developer of Cyberpunk 2077, was hacked in 2021, which led to data from Gwent: The Witcher Card Game being published on social media.

Also last year, hackers who had stolen the source code for FIFA 21 and the game engine Frostbite tried to sell data online.

Earlier this year, Bandai Namco shut down the Dark Souls I, II, and III servers after discovering a dangerous remote code execution flaw.