Japanese media company Kadokawa, which also owns Elden Ring developer FromSoftware, has suffered a major hack. After breaching the network, the attackers gained access to many internal files and confidential information.
FalconFeeds, which specializes in cyber security, broke the news on June 27. The post on X featured a message from ransomware group BlackSuit that was recently posted on the Dark Web.
The hackers claim to have stolen 1.5 TB of the company’s data, including legal documents, contracts, business plans, financial records, as well as user and employee information. They gained access to this information earlier this month, saying that “Kadokawa networks architecture was not organized properly.”
BlackSuit threatened to make the data public if the Japanese company doesn’t pay the ransom before July 1. The group added that “Kadokawa is trying to settle the deal, but the amount of money they have offered is extremely low for this company” (via VGC).
🚨 BLACK SUIT Ransomware Alert 🚨
– KADOKAWA Corporation 🇯🇵
KADOKAWA Group is an entertainment company active in publishing, video, games, web services, education, and merchandise. They have now fallen victim to BLACK SUIT Ransomware. The group plans to release 1.5 TB of… pic.twitter.com/Ix0xN0XAsX
— FalconFeeds.io (@FalconFeedsio) June 27, 2024
Kadokawa then released a statement, saying that the cyberattack occurred on June 8 and apologizing “for the significant inconvenience and trouble caused to its readers, users, writers, creators, business partners, shareholders, investors and other stakeholders by the system failure.”
The attack targeted video sharing platform Niconico and related services. The company’s distribution and publication business, which is focused on products such as manga, books, and magazines, also suffered from the hack.
Kadokawa holds a 69.66% stake in FromSoftware, with the rest controlled by Tencent and Sony. However, it is unclear whether the cyberattack affected the Elden Ring developer and its internal data.
The Japanese company is now investigating the hack with the support of external organizations. Kadokawa stressed that it doesn’t store any credit card information of its customers, adding that “the impact of this [attack] on Kadokawa Group’s business performance in the current fiscal year is currently unclear at this moment.”