Hackers release 751GB of compressed EA data containing FIFA 21 source code. According to a copy of the dump acquired by The Record, “the leaked files contain the source code of the FIFA 21 soccer game, including tools to support the company’s server-side services”.
The data, dumped on an underground cybercrime forum on Monday, July 26, is at the present being widely distributed on torrent sites.
In this case, the hackers claimed to have gained access to the data after buying authentication cookies for an EA internal Slack channel from a dark web marketplace called Genesis.
How The EA Data Leak Carried Out?
At first, the hackers posted a thread on an underground hacking forum claiming to own EA data, which they were ready to sell for $28 million.
Hackers used the authentication cookies to imitate an already-logged-in EA employee’s account and access EA’s Slack channel and then trick an EA IT support staffer into granting them access to the company’s internal network.
According to the EA hack, hackers failed to locate any buyers on the underground market, since the stolen data is typically a source code. After failing to find a buyer, the hackers tried to extort EA, asking the company to pay an undisclosed sum and avoid having the data leaked online.
The Record mention that hackers initially released a cache of 1.3GB of FIFA source code on July 14, only to release the entire data two weeks later after EA shunned their threats.
EA says that “no player data was accessed” during the hackers’ intrusion and the company has “no reason to believe there is any risk to player privacy” as a result of the leak.
Finally, an EA spokesperson states, we’ve already made security improvements and do not expect any impact on our games or our business, We are actively working with law enforcement officials and other experts as part of this ongoing criminal investigation.”
