GTA-maker Rockstar Games hacked again but downplays impact

Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games has faced a second hacking incident in three years, with a group known as ShinyHunters claiming responsibility.

They reported accessing Rockstar’s servers via a third-party cloud provider and threatened to release the stolen information unless a ransom was paid.

Despite this, Rockstar Games assured the public that the breach would have no impact on the organization or its players, emphasizing that only limited, non-material company information was compromised.

ShinyHunters, a group of English-speaking cybercriminals, has previously targeted companies like Ticketmaster and has a history of hacking into cloud storage systems.

Following their threat to publish stolen data, law enforcement agencies advise against paying ransoms, as it perpetuates criminal activities without guaranteeing the deletion of the stolen information.

The incident marks the second occurrence of a data breach at Rockstar Games.

A previous hack in 2023 led to the theft of data, source code, and video clips related to the much-anticipated GTA 6 game, resulting in the premature release of a game trailer.

The earlier breach involved an 18-year-old hacker named Arion Kurtaj, associated with a group of teenage hackers called Lapsus$.