Cyberpunk Ransomware
Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 source code was sold to an unknown purchaser. The sale happened after the developer CD Projekt failed to satisfy the hackers’ ransom demands.
CD Projekt was hit by HelloKitty Ransomware.
CD Projekt RED suffered a breach in their server that caused the source code for Cyberpunk 2077, Gwent and an unreleased edition of The Witcher 3 to be stolen.
The developer announced the incident on 9th of February in a post stating that over the weekend an “unidentified actor” was able to obtain unauthorized access to their network and stole a variety of details.
Following the attack, CD Projekt was granted 48 hours to “come to an agreement” with the attacker on the stolen source code and documentation related to accounting, administration, HR, legal, and investor relations. If not, the intruder threatened to sell or leak the data online.
In response to the ransom demands, CD Projekt announced that it would not negotiate with the perpetrators and would not meet their ransom demands despite knowing that this might lead to the leak of the stolen information. The developer also said that it was making every effort to mitigate the impact of a possible data leak by reaching all involved parties.
After CD Projekt refused to negotiate with the hackers on regaining its data, Gwent’s compromised source files appeared online. Shortly afterward, the source code for Cyberpunk 2077 and Witcher 3 was announced for auction with a starting price for the package of $1,000,000.
It did not take long to close the auction, as the darknet intelligence service KELA announced that a “satisfying offer” was accepted. There was no mention of the final price at which the source code was sold. However, the anonymous buyer appears to have paid enough to stop the dissemination and further sales of the stolen CD Projekt information.
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