No consequences for the players, but a worrying event all the same.
Video game developer Electronic Arts (EA) admitted on Thursday that hackers had stolen the source code of some titles in its catalog while ensuring that the cyberattack would not have an impact on gamers.
A source code being a text written in a programming language containing instructions for the execution of a computer program.
More clearly, it is in a way the DNA of the program, hence the importance of this piracy ...
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This confirmation from EA, including the originator of the “Battlefield”, “Medal of Honor” and “The Sims” series, comes after the publication of an article by Vice Media claiming that several source codes, including the one the famous football game "Fifa 21" and the Engine, which runs several EA titles, had been stolen.
"We are investigating a recent incident related to an intrusion into our networks and the theft of a limited amount of source code for games and associated tools," an EA spokesperson told AFP.
"No player data has been stolen and we have no reason to believe that there is any risk to the protection of the privacy of players", reassured this spokesperson.
“Following this incident, we have already improved our security and we do not expect there to be any impact on our games or our business.
"EA said" actively collaborate with the police and other experts in the context of this ongoing criminal investigation.
A major wave of hacks in the United States
According to Vice, the hackers bragged about their attack on underground internet forums.
"You now have the full capacity to operate all of EA's services", one could read in a message published on one of these platforms.
Cybercriminals have put the stolen data up for sale in various spaces of the “dark web”, the clandestine version of the Internet, says Vice.
This attack comes after a wave of hacking in the United States in recent months that targeted, among others, industrial groups, hospitals, government institutions and NGOs.
It also takes place a few days before the famous international video game fair E3 in which EA is to participate.
The event, which will take place entirely online this year, kicks off Saturday.