Global video game publisher Bandai Namco – known for games including Pac-Man and Elden Ring – has reportedly been hit by a ransomware attack according to the cyber security site VX-underground, which showed a screen grab suggesting stolen data from the company is incoming from Ransomware-as-a-Service group ALPHV.
ALPHV is a rapidly growing ransomware group notorious for pressurizing its victims – charging up $2.5M for ransoms, and carrying out ‘quadruple ransomware attacks’, hitting victims with encryption, data theft, denial of service (DoS) and harassment.
“Video game publisher Bandai Namco appears to be the latest in a growing line of victims of Ransomware-as-a-Service group ALPHV. The group has been upping the stakes recently, hitting businesses of all sizes worldwide and extorting victims for all they’re worth – reportedly charging up $2.5M for ransoms, and carrying out ‘quadruple extortion’ ransomware attacks, hitting victims with data encryption, data theft, Denial of Service (DoS) attacks and further harassment, all pressuring them to cough up.
“With so much at stake, it’s vital organisations can identify the cybercriminal behaviour and alert security teams before the attack becomes a breach. For example, by spotting when an attacker has gained access to systems and is attempting to move laterally and escalate privileges to reach high-value data, it can be stopped before that data is locked down. By assuming compromise, organisations are in a much stronger position to detect all sorts of attacks and prevent them from becoming breaches. Ransomware isn’t going to vanish overnight, so organisations must have advanced threat detection capabilities. By reducing the time it takes to spot threats, providers can mitigate the impact of ransomware, stopping attacks before they become breaches.”