Elden Ring Publisher Bandai Namco Confirms Hack

Following reports that Elden Ring publisher Bandai Namco had been the target of a ransomware attack, the company has now confirmed that it was, indeed, hacked. According to Bandai Namco, the exact extent of the damage caused by “unauthorized access by third party” is currently being investigated. It also promises to disclose the results of the investigation “as appropriate.”

The acknowledged hack seems to be the impetus behind recent “leaks” out of Bandai Namco, though the likelihood that these are anything but fake is slim. Exactly what information the folks that achieved unauthorized access with seems to be unclear at the moment, though Bandai Namco suggests that customer information from its Toys and Hobby Business in Asian regions outside of Japan could have been on the affected servers. The hack has been reportedly been claimed by the ALPHV, also known as BlackCat, ransomware group, though Bandai Namco has not itself announced that or even mentioned the word “ransomware” yet. You can check out the full statement from Bandai Namco, direct from the source, below:

On July 3, 2022, Bandai Namco Holdings Inc. confirmed that it experienced an unauthorized access by third party to the internal systems of several Group companies in Asian regions (excluding Japan). After we confirmed the unauthorized access, we have taken measures such as blocking access to the servers to prevent the damage from spreading. In addition, there is a possibility that customer information related to the Toys and Hobby Business in Asian regions (excluding Japan) was included in the servers and PCs, and we are currently identifying the status about existence of leakage, scope of the damage, and investigating the cause.

We will continue to investigate the cause of this incident and will disclose the investigation results as appropriate. We will also work with external organizations to strengthen security throughout the Group and take measures to prevent recurrence.

We offer our sincerest apologies to everyone involved for any complications or concerns caused by this incident.

As noted above, it is known that unauthorized access to internal Bandai Namco internal systems was achieved, but the exact scope of the damage nor the cause has been revealed. Bandai Namco is currently investigating both. You can check out all of our previous coverage of Bandai Namco in general right here.

What do you think of Bandai Namco getting hacked? Have you been playing video games published by Bandai Namco like Elden Ring? Let us know in the comments, or feel free to reach out and hit me up directly over on Twitter at @rollinbishop in order to talk about all things gaming.