GTA VI-maker 'Rockstar Games' hacked again, minimizes impact

Rockstar Games, the creators of Grand Theft Auto, have faced a second cyberattack in three years.

According to cybersecurity news sources, the gaming powerhouse was breached by hackers on Saturday, who claimed responsibility for the attack.

The hackers announced they accessed Rockstar's servers via a third-party cloud service and threatened to release the stolen materials unless a ransom was paid.

Rockstar, however, downplayed the incident to gaming site Kotaku, stating "it does not affect our company or our players."

"We can verify that a small amount of non-essential company data was accessed due to a third-party security breach," a Rockstar representative informed the publication.

The BBC has reached out to Rockstar for their comments and has also spoken with the hackers, who call themselves ShinyHunters.

The group is known for being active English-speaking cybercriminals, believed to be relatively young, who focus on data breaches and blackmail.

Previously, they claimed to target the gig ticket company Ticketmaster.

The hackers did not reveal their methods to the BBC but confirmed their intention to post the stolen data online as their conditions were unmet.

Global law enforcement advises against paying ransoms to cybercriminals, as it supports the crime industry without ensuring the deletion of stolen data.

This is the second breach for the high-profile game company.

In 2023, an 18-year-old hacker from Britain named Arion Kurtaj received a hospital order without a time limit after infiltrating the company's systems and stealing data, including source code and video footage of the unfinished GTA 6 game.

This significant hack resulted in 90 video snippets of the game being leaked online, prompting Rockstar to release the game trailer earlier than planned.

Kurtaj was a member of the teenage hacker group Lapsus$, which targeted several major businesses in 2022 and 2023.