After Vice refuses help, hackers begin to leak stolen data

July 17, 2021

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According to reports, hackers stole FIFA 21 and Frostbite engine source code in June. Electronic Arts refuses to pay ransom.

In June, hackers hacked into Electronic Arts data servers. They reportedly stole the entire source code for FIFA 21 as well as the Frostbite Engine used in EA shooters like Battlefield 2042. A new Vice report claims that they tried to extort the publisher shortly after. This failed, so now they are releasing the source code publically.

The hackers sent an email a few weeks ago asking for ransome [sic] to EA, but didn’t get any response. So we will post the [source],” they wrote in a message. We will continue posting the source if they don’t contact us or don’t pay us.

Vice’s tech section Motherboard reported that it received a copy of the 1.3GB cache that had been released by hackers. It contains references to Electronic Arts’ internal tools as well as Origin, EA’s digital storefront. Electronic Arts stated that it will not tolerate the escalation despite the fact that it saw a copy of 1.3GB cache released by hackers.

It stated that it was aware of recent posts made by alleged hackers, and is currently analyzing the files. “At the moment, we believe it doesn’t contain any data that could be a concern for player privacy and we don’t have any reason to believe there is any risk to our games or business. As part of the ongoing criminal investigation, we continue to cooperate with federal law enforcement officers.”

This situation is very similar to the attack on CD Project earlier in the year that resulted from the theft of source code for many games, including Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3. CD Projekt responded to a ransom demand by declaring that it would not negotiate nor give in to demands. The hackers then began releasing stolen data.

This case is unusual in that the data thieves sought help from an unanticipated third party after being ignored for weeks.

The site stated that hackers requested Motherboard to deliver an extortion message directly to EA on their behalf. Motherboard refused to do this.