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Cyber Daily: Hackers Target Videogame Publishers for Ransom, Source Code
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Hello. Gamers have struggled for years with hackers who cheat and take over accounts. Now, videogame studios are coming under serious attack, prompting them to step up their cyber defenses, WSJ Pro's James Rundle reports.
Other news: U.S. and allies work on coming together to address cybersecurity aggression; clarifying facial recognition rules in Canada; Justice Department looks at privacy gaps; education is still a hacking target.
Follow us on Twitter: @WSJCyber
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CD Projekt, which makes the popular game Cyberpunk 2077, said it upgraded firewalls and expanded its internal security team after a ransomware attack early this year. PHOTO: JAAP ARRIENS/ZUMA PRESS
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Hackers are going after videogame makers, hunting for source code and other juicy bits. Electronic Arts Inc. said Thursday it was breached by hackers recently, confirming an earlier report by technology news outlet Motherboard. That followed a disclosure by Polish game developer CD Projekt SA in February of a ransomware attack and a similar invasion of systems at Capcom Co. last November.
Each attack involved data theft, with schedules for coming Capcom releases posted on darknet forums for games including Resident Evil Village and Street Fighter. Hackers claim to have pilfered the source code for popular games such as EA’s FIFA series and CD Projekt’s Cyberpunk 2077, and the libraries of code and digital assets known as game engines used to create them.
Rather than demanding ransom to not publish the source code, the hackers have instead said they would auction it on the darknet.
Read the full story.
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More Cyber and Privacy News
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President Biden joined leaders from other NATO countries on Monday at the alliance’s headquarters in Brussels. PHOTO: KEVIN LAMARQUE/PRESS POOL
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Biden, NATO stress threats from China and Russia. Despite an atmosphere of renewed comity among North Atlantic Treaty Organization allies, disputes simmer over how to balance new threats from China against more traditional ones from Russia and how to address threats in new domains including cybersecurity. (WSJ)
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A 79-paragraph communiqué released Monday criticizes Moscow’s military buildup, cyber and disinformation attacks aimed at the West, and its annexation of Crimea from Ukraine.
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The communiqué says that Article 5, the principle of collective defense enshrined in the treaty that established NATO in 1949, can be invoked on a case-by-case basis in response to a cyberattack.
Wednesday’s summit between President Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin is gearing up to be a showdown between two leaders who have long been at odds. On Sunday, Mr. Putin told a state television program that Moscow would be willing to extradite cybercriminals to the U.S. under an appropriate bilateral agreement and if Washington were ready to do the same. (WSJ)
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PHOTO: STEFAN ROUSSEAU
/ZUMA PRESS
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Root out ransomware hackers: The European Union and Group of 7 leaders, including Germany's Angela Merkel and the U.K.'s Boris Johnson, urged all nations to disrupt ransomware criminal networks. The group focused on Russia, in particular, asking the country to hold such attackers within its borders to account. (Bleeping Computer)
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PHOTO: TIM KROCHAK
/AGENCE FRANCE-PRESSE/GETTY IMAGES
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Need for clarity: Canada’s privacy commissioner wants the country’s lawmakers to revamp privacy laws to address issues related to facial recognition, following an investigation into the use of such technology by Canada’s federal police agency. (WSJ Pro Artificial Intelligence)
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PHOTO: TOM BRENNER
/PRESS POOL
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Closing privacy gaps: U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said Monday the Justice Department will tighten rules under which it collected information about the media and House Democrats during the previous administration. (Associated Press)
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Education still a target. Education services firm Stride Inc. disclosed that information about 13,740 employees was compromised in a November ransomware attack. Stride, based in Herndon, Va., said it paid a ransom to its attackers “as a proactive and preventive step” to guard against the hackers publishing stolen data online. The company didn't say how much it paid.
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Buffalo Public Schools revealed it was the victim of a ransomware incident in March that exposed personal and financial data related to 14,039 employees.
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New from WSJ Pro Research:
Designing Engagement Into Security Awareness Training
Companies are adopting a more inclusive approach to security awareness training. Part of the goal is to drive maximum engagement by optimizing learning experiences and recognizing workers' safe behaviors. Our research explores methods firms can use to entice workers and contribute to a collaborative security-minded culture.
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