CD Projekt Praised for Response to Hacker Attack
A hacker attack is another unfortunate event for CD Projekt. However, the company's quick and „transparent” response has earned the creators of Cyberpunk 2077 the approval of security specialists.
CD Projekt hasn't had a moment to rest since the release of Cyberpunk 2077. The company still has to patch up the title, whose day one release left a lot to be desired, and the company already has another problem on its hands. The recent hacker attack, which led to the theft of the source code of Gwent, The Witcher 3 and Cyberpunk 2077, among other things, is, of course, a matter of great concern. Paradoxically, it is precisely this misfortune which has gained the Polish company words of approval. Joe Tidy, a technology reporter for the BBC, praised CD Projekt's response. The journalist went as far as to say that the Poles have set the "gold standard in responding to ransomware attacks".
Tidy points out two important issues. Firstly, CD Projekt did not try to hide the attack and immediately informed about it. The company even published the ransom note sent by the hackers, which, according to the journalist, is expected to be an invaluable aid to researchers. Secondly, the company is not negotiating with the thieves, instead using backups to restore lost data. Tidy admits that such conduct is seemingly not unusual. However, and we quote, "in a world of empty press releases and companies quietly paying huge ransoms, CD Projekt RED has shown what can and, according to many, should be done to deal with the growing problem of ransomware.
It should be added that the District Prosecutor's Office in Warsaw, where CD Projekt's HQ is based initiated preparatory proceedings in the case of a hacking attack on the company. The investigation will check, among other things, the connection of the hack with the company's financial report, published the day before.
Fabian Wosar, an employee of Emisoft, a company that specializes in computer systems security and countering ransomware, also commented on the case. He points out that theories that the attack was carried out by players disappointed with Cyberpunk 2077 are very naive. According to Wosar, the content of the ransom note indicates that the culprit could be the group known as "HelloKitty", which has been active since at least November 2020. Its hackers have a record of, among other things, last year's hacking into Brazilian energy company CEMIG. The thieves also have a habit of leaving a note in the form of a text file named "read_me_unlock.txt". An identical note was sent to CD Projekt RED.
The amount of people that are thinking this was done by a disgruntled gamer is laughable. Judging by the ransom note that was shared, this was done by a ransomware group we track as "HelloKitty". This has nothing to do with disgruntled gamers and is just your average ransomware.," wrote Fabian Wosar.
