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Source code from Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 have been stolen from CD Projekt RED

By Kenneth Ang - on 10 Feb 2021, 3:13pm

Source code from Cyberpunk 2077 and The Witcher 3 have been stolen from CD Projekt RED

Image: CD Projekt RED

As impressive as modern technology might be, it's also worth noting that like a lot of other things, it has a darker side too. On one hand, advanced coding is used to protect our personal data like banking and identification numbers and keep them away from prying eyes, yet on the other hand, those same techniques can also be used to blackmail and steal such data from people.

Unfortunately, that's exactly what has happened to CD Projekt RED, the victim of an especially nasty corporate ransomware attack. According to the studio's tweet, which has seen its fair share of hype and hate from fans over the past few months, the hackers got away with full copies of the source code for numerous games, such as The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Cyberpunk 2077, Gwent and "the unreleased version of The Witcher 3", which is widely speculated to be the one tailored for next-gen consoles. But that's a story for another day.

Right now, the studio has to contend with similar conditions as every other ransomware victim, namely paying copious amounts of money to the hacker within 48 hours in order to get their data back. If they refuse to comply, the hackers have threatened in their ransom note to leak or sell all the stolen documents to the public and their "contacts in gaming journalism". They (the hackers) have also stated that they have access to other aspects of company data. such as "accounting, administration, HR, investor relations and more", which could potentially send CD Projekt on a one-way trip to the legal afterlife.

Meanwhile, the studio has made their stand clear and have refused to comply with the demands of the hackers. They've already contacted the relevant security agencies and begun recovering some of the information from backups, on top of rebuilding their cybersecurity infrastructure. More importantly, they have also come forward to say that "the compromised systems did not contain any personal data of our players or users of our services", which is definitely good to know. 

All in all, this adds another big notch into what has already been a tumultous period for CD Projekt. Having to contend with a ransomware attack barely two months after the immense fan-fueled anger at Cyberpunk 2077's performance must be extremely taxing on company morale, and we really can't begin to imagine what it's like to work at the studio right now.

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