Hackers post FIFA 21’s stolen code on the dark web after ransom demand fails

The hackers who stole the source code for video game company Electronic Arts (EA)'s FIFA 21 have posted the code on the Dark Web. According to reports, the hackers initially tried to demand a ransom from EA for the theft, but released the data after failing to reach an agreement with the company over payment.

The hackers initially asked for $28 million (about £20.7 billion) for the stolen source code, about 780 gigabytes worth of data. They stole the data by infiltrating EA's internal Slack channels. The company refused to pay the ransom, reportedly because the stolen data did not contain any sensitive information." Following the incident, we have made security improvements and do not anticipate any impact to our games or business. We are actively working with law enforcement officials and other experts as part of this ongoing criminal investigation," the company revealed.

The stolen data first appeared on the dark web and in underground forums on June 11. At the time, the hackers said they had also stolen application programming interface (API) keys for the upcoming version of the game, FIFA 2022, and they also said they had obtained software development kits (SDKs) for Xbox and PlayStation consoles, and that source code for the game engines of other high-value EA games, such as Battlefield and Madden, had also been stolen.

"It is definitely not good news that proprietary source code has been compromised, this is serious IP (intellectual property) theft where hackers are able to harvest valuable information and are able to see the inner workings of the game, exploit security vulnerabilities and even reverse engineer the game for malicious purposes." Prakash Bell, Head of Customer Success, India and Saarc Region SE, Check Point Software Technologies, said, "In addition to the reputational damage caused by the leak and loss of IP, the affected companies will suffer significant monetary losses as a result of the investments they made and future revenues. "