GTA-maker Rockstar Games hacked again but downplays impact

Grand Theft Auto developer Rockstar Games has been targeted for a second time in three years by hackers.

The data breach affecting the gaming giant was reported by cybersecurity news outlets on Saturday, after a group of hackers claimed responsibility.

In posts viewed by outlets, the criminals said they gained access to Rockstar servers managed by a third-party cloud provider and would publish stolen material online unless paid a ransom.

However, Rockstar has downplayed the breach, telling the BBC "this incident has no impact on our organisation or our players".

"We can confirm that a limited amount of non-material company information was accessed in connection with a third-party data breach," a Rockstar Games spokesperson said.

The BBC has spoken to the hackers responsible for this latest breach, who called themselves ShinyHunters.

They are a prolific group of English-speaking cybercriminals, thought to be in their teens, who specialise in data theft and extortion.

They previously claimed to be behind a hack targeting gig ticket operator Ticketmaster.

In the last two years the criminals have repeatedly broken into cloud storage systems used by major corporations and claim to have done the same with Rockstar Games.

ShinyHunters said the stolen data would be published online as their demands had not been met.

Law enforcement advice around the world is not to pay cybercriminal ransoms as it fuels the industry and there is no guarantee hackers will actually delete stolen data.

The incident marks the second time the blockbuster game developer has been hacked.

In 2023 an 18-year-old British hacker called Arion Kurtaj was given an indefinite hospital order after hacking into the company and stealing data, source code and video clips of the unfinished GTA 6 game.

The damaging hack saw 90 video clips of incomplete gameplay for Rockstar's highly-anticipated new game published in online forums - prompting the firm to release its trailer for the game ahead of schedule.

Kurtaj was part of a gang of teen hackers called Lapsus$, which hacked multiple large corporations in 2022 and 2023.

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