Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco investigating ransomware hack

Bandai Namco claims it was attacked by ransomware in July. Elden RingWednesday’s confirmation was confirmed by Tekken Publisher. Black Cat, the group named after ransomware that it uses, claimed the responsibility and added Bandai Namco as its victim.

Bandai Namco states that Bandai Namco believes that Bandai Namco was hacked in Asia, except Japan. Some customer data may also have been stolen from its hobby and toys business. The publisher says it’s still investigating the extent of the hack.

“ALPHV ransomware group (alternatively referred to as BlackCat ransomware group) claims to have ransomed Bandai Namco,” malware watchdog vx-underground posted on Twitter. Black Cat (also known as ALPHV) is a well-known ransomware organization that’s allegedly linked to the Colonial Pipeline hack, which shut down the main fuel pipeline in America and cut off gas supply last year. The U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigations released a report on the group in April, warning that it’s “compromised at least 60 entities worldwide.”

Bandai Namco released a statement Wednesday to Eurogamer stating that the attack happened on July 3. However, they have not revealed what data has been compromised. The company’s full statement is as follows:

Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. reported that it had been unauthorized to access the systems of several Group businesses in Asian countries (excluding Japan), on July 3, 2022.

To stop further damage we took steps such as blocking server access after we had confirmed that the unauthorised access was occurring. We are also investigating whether customer data related to Toys and Hobby Business Asia (except Japan) may have been included in servers and computers.

The incident will be investigated further and we will share the results of the investigations as necessary. To strengthen security within the Group we will work closely with other organizations and implement preventative actions to avoid recurrence.

All involved are sincerely sorry for the inconvenience and concerns.

Bandai Namco has not responded to Polygon’s request for more information.

Over the last few years, many videogame companies have been subject to similar cyberattacks. Nvidia, Cyberpunk 2077 Electronic Arts and developer CD Projekt Red were all affected by security breaches of various scales. These included sensitive information such as source code and employee data. The hacks are not related to Black Cat ransomware.