With the recent Insomniac Games hacking scandal and the leaks that led to the Rockstar Games’ GTA 6 official trailer being released ahead of schedule, many fans are left asking why this keeps happening. It appears that, unlike other media outlets like Film and TV, the gaming industry is most susceptible to outside interference leading to unwanted information being made public.
While it may be fun for some fans to learn details of their long-awaited games, there have to be questions asked about companies’ security protocols and the ease with which some hackers have managed to gain access. However, what remains to be seen is what companies intend to do to tackle this worrying trend and protect future property.
How Did the Insomniac Games Leaks Come About?
The most recent hacking scandal involving Insomniac Games has perhaps been seen as the most controversial of late, given that on top of game development details, confidential employee details were also leaked. The studio refused to meet the ransom amount which the hacker group had set, and this saw the aforementioned details made public.
Extensive details of Marvel’s Wolverine featured mostly in the leaked ransomware hack but there were also plans for an online Spider-Man MMO which was cancelled, Marvel’s Venom and Marvel’s X-Men games along with a new Ratchet and Clank title also featured.
As reported in Cyber Daily, the group behind the attack, Rhysida, stated that they were solely motivated by financial gain and that Insomniac Games presented themselves as an ‘easy target‘. Indeed, they went further by saying that it took them only around 20-25 mins to reach the domain administrator, which in itself is quite worrying.
Whilst it is no surprise that the hack was based on making money off of the developers, it is disgraceful that the group chose to put individuals’ personal details in public. People who have worked tirelessly to develop a game now have the added stress of their details being picked up by further hackers and being used against them in nefarious situations.
Thankfully, since news of the Insomniac Games leaks broke, many in the gaming industry have rallied around the studio to offer their support and vocally condemn the actions of the hackers. Many of them echoed the words such as ‘disgraceful’ and ‘shameful’ to describe the situation that the studio now found itself in.
So the big question is; how do these leaks happen, shouldn’t there be security measures in place? Well, many factors could lead to game information being leaked to the public. It could be a disgruntled employee who is looking to get their own back on the company, or in more common situations, it is a hacker who has managed to gain access.
However, it should be noted that it is not always in nefarious circumstances in which leaks become public. There are some instances in which the companies themselves will leak details relating to games just to create a buzz within the community and generate hype ahead of release. The result of which could see sales skyrocket.
Unfortunately, it is more often than not the leaks that appear can have a detrimental effect on both the reputation of a company and the sales of a prospective title. On occasion, there have even been games that have been completely cancelled due to the nature of the leaks which have surrounded it, however it should be noted that these are quite rare.
With the medium of video games, it may be easier to gain access to material given the digital nature of the development process but that is not to say that leaks don’t happen with the film industry. The upcoming Deadpool 3 movie has seen leaked images being made public and this has even prompted lead actor Ryan Reynolds to post the images on his social media.
We know that at the beginning of the month, leaks led to the Rockstar Games’ GTA 6 trailer being published nearly 24 hours earlier than planned but it appears that leaks and Rockstar Games go hand in hand. The franchise appears to have a map leak ahead of every planned release, so much so that we have to question whether this is intentional by the company.
At the time of writing, we have learned that one of the individuals behind the GTA 6 leaks has been given an indefinite hospital order, handed down from Southwark Crown Court. Forming part of the Lapsus$ hacker group Arion Kurtaj, who has autism, cost several firms including Uber, Nvidia, and Rockstar Games, costing the companies close to $10 million.
The individual who was on Bail for a previous hack, has been deemed high risk to the public due to his skills and desire to commit cyber-crime and as a result, will remain in a secure unit until doctors deem that he is no longer a risk to society.
What Can the Gaming Industry Do to Stop Any Future Leaks?
What more can be done to address these leaks and how can companies address their security failures? Well, except companies leaking material themselves, then it is more to do with common sense than anything else.
Marketing materials such as images and videos should be kept under tight security and with few having access to them. The fewer people who have access, the smaller the risk of an individual leaking material. Employees should also be reminded about obligations against disclosing company details on social media, which unfortunately many have fallen prey to.
One rumored tactic that could be adopted by companies is that which has already been employed by several governments. On every design brief document issued, one word within the text will be different for each employee and from this, companies would be able to identify where the leak stemmed from based on this word. However, we should highlight that game studios using this government tactic is unconfirmed at the time of writing.
It is sadly becoming more and more commonplace for video game leaks to happen, and the gaming industry will have to take drastic steps to address this moving forward. Given how worrying it is with the recent hacking scandal and the confidential employee that was made public, we can only imagine that many in the industry will be looking to strengthen their security measures to avoid any future such scandals.
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