Last week, a group known as Rhysida threatened to release Insomniac Games’ internal data it acquired through a malware attack. The group gave the Spider-Man maker 7 days to pay an undisclosed ransom in cryptocurrency. A new report suggests the hacker leaked 98% of the data minutes after the expiration of the ransom deadline.
The hacker also put up the data for auction starting at $2 million in Bitcoin. Since 98% of the illegally obtained data was released, there are indications that the remaining $2% was likely sold on its darknet leak site.
“With just 7 days on the clock, seize the opportunity to bid on exclusive, unique, and impressive data,” the group had said after breaching Insomniac Games’ 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!”
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As reported by Cyber Daily, “Not sold data was uploaded, data hunters, enjoy”, the group said. The new leaked data adds to the one the group released on December 12 as proof of the hack. Some of the previously released data include annotated screenshots from Insomniac’s Wolverine game.
Rhysida uploaded data from Insomniac Games in three parts
According to Cyber Daily, the hacked files were uploaded in three parts, all pointing to an online data catalog. The first set of data has everything from character models to level designs, and design images of the upcoming Wolverine game.
There was another file on Insomniac’s Spider-Man 2 game and internal HR documents including employment forms and termination documents labeled 1 -9. Also included are screenshots of Insomniac Games’ Slack channels alongside several content of employee PCs.
The third category of data will excite gamers who are fans of the X-Men franchise. It contained a publishing agreement between Sony Interactive Entertainment and Marvel signed by Jim Ryan (Sony’s president) and Isaac Perlmutter (Marvel’s chairperson of entertainment).
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The agreement, which was dated July 26, 2021, shows that Sony has obtained a license to publish three games based on the X-men IP. The first of the three games is the upcoming Wolverine game. The leaked document also contained release timelines for the games.
The Wolverine game is expected to be published on or before September 1, 2025, while the other unnamed games are planned to be published before December 31, 2029, and December 31, 2033, respectively. The agreement shows that Sony plans to spend around $120 million on each title.
Rhysida confirmed that Sony and Insomniac Games were consciously targeted
Data scrapers have already started downloading and sifting through the leaked files. Therefore, we expect to see more information emerge about Insomniac Games’ plans in the coming days and weeks. It is not certain whether confidential documents were included in the new leak or if they were among the 2% sold to anonymous buyers.
Cyber Daily reached out to Rysida to confirm their motive and the circumstances leading to the attack. The group confirmed that Insomniac Games and Sony “were specifically targeted”, according to David Hollingworth of Cyber Daily.
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“Yes, we knew who we were attacking,” a Rhysida spokesperson replied to Cyber Daily through email. “We knew that developers making games like this would be an easy target. We were able to get the domain administrator within 20-25 minutes of hacking the network.”
Sony launched an investigation after the hack was discovered but the Rhysida spokesperson said, “It would be better in the backyard”. The group also revealed that their primary motive for the attack was money.
While they may not have gotten the money they desired from Insomniac Games and Sony, it appears they may have gotten a bit of it from an anonymous buyers. This is a developing story and we will keep you updated as soon as we get new information.
