Rhysida Ransomware Operators Hacked Insomniac Games and Demanded $2 Million to Refrain from Releasing Confidential Information

Hackers have compromised systems belonging to game developer Insomniac Games and posted the stolen information online, asking for $2 million in Bitcoin.

Gaming studios and publishers are among the most sought-after companies by to ransomware attackers and data theives. The past few years has seen countless examples of companies in this industry that have suffered this type of attack.

From the little information available about the latest attack, it seems that the studio was hit by Rhysida, a group specializing in deploying ransomware. The group didn't say if they actually deployed ransomware and the company has yet to acknowledge the situation. However, its parent company, Sony, said that they knew about the incident.

"We are aware of reports that Insomniac Games has been the victim of a cyber security attack. We are currently investigating this situation," saida Sony spokesperson for Eurogamer. "We have no reason to believe that any other SIE or Sony divisions have been impacted."

The hack itself seems to differ little from what we would expect, but the nature of the stolen data shows why criminals use it as a leverage tool. Some of the information that could very well end up online contains details about an upcoming Wolverine title, passport scans of Insomniac Games employees, and other personal documents.

Rhysida posted an announcement saying that the company had seven days to come up with the money to buy back the data, or else it would go up for auction. Of course, there's no guarantee that they would actually hold their end of the bargain, even if the company went through with the payment.

"With just 7 days on the clock, seize the opportunity to bid on exclusive, unique, and impressive data. Open your wallets and be ready to buy exclusive data. We sell only to one hand, no reselling, you will be the only owner!" the hackers promised, according to a CyberDaily report.