Hackers Demand $2 Million in Bitcoin After Stealing Insomniac Games Data: Report

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Insomniac Games has been hit with a cyberattack by the Rhysida hacker group, CyberDaily reported, and is allegedly demanding a ransom with a starting price of 50 Bitcoin—that’s more than $2 million worth.

Sony, which owns the studio behind Spider-Man 2 and the Ratchet & Clank series, is actively investigating the breach.

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

The hackers have reportedly gained access to confidential data including U.S. passport scans, personal data via multiple W9 tax forms, as well as game screenshots for Insomniac’s upcoming Wolverine game based on the Marvel superhero. The personal data is believed to belong to current or former Insomniac Games employees, who would have input their social security numbers, addresses, and identifying personal information on such forms.

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Rhysida hackers have reportedly given Insomniac a week to respond to their demands, but the alleged cyberattackers have already begun auctioning the data to the highest bidder, starting at 50 BTC, according to the report.

“With just 7 days on the clock, seize the opportunity to bid on exclusive, unique, and impressive data,” the hackers claimed on their leak site. “Open your wallets and be ready to buy exclusive data. We sell only to one hand, no reselling, you will be the only owner!”

This year, the Rhyisda group has also been blamed for hacking the British Library and breaching a hospital in the U.K.

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Insomniac’s Wolverine game was first announced back in 2021. It’s far from the first game to suffer a cyberattack resulting in game leaks, however. In 2022, Rockstar Games saw hackers leak over 90 pieces of content from Grand Theft Auto 6’s development. Rockstar Games later confirmed the breach, and the teenage hacker was convicted in the U.K. in August for blackmail and fraud, among other charges.

Sony also saw hackers steal data from the tech giant this year. In October, Sony confirmed that hackers known as RansomedVC allegedly compromised all of Sony’s computer systems and announced that they would sell stolen data, SecurityWeek reported.

A cybersecurity firm estimated that over 62 million people may be impacted by the Sony hack, but how many individuals might be affected by the Insomniac hack is currently unknown.

Insomniac Games has not yet responded to Decrypt’s request for comment.

Edited by Andrew Hayward

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