Hackers released FIFA 21’s source code because EA didn’t seem to care about the ransom

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A little over a month ago, a group of hackers obtained the entire source code for EA’s super popular FIFA 21 video game. Now, the hackers have released the source code for free, after they failed to sell the code online and EA ignored their extortion request.

We initially heard about this data breach back in June. Hackers were able to use a unique tactic to gain access to the game’s code. First, the hackers used $10 worth of stolen cookies to work their way into an official EA Slack channel. From there, they pretended to be an employee and convinced an IT worker that they had lost access to their account. They were then able to surf through EA’s network and find around 780GB of the company’s source code.

Once hackers obtained the data, they immediately posted their findings for sale on a black market forum. However, the data didn’t receive any bites, as it didn’t contain any user data, like personal and financial information, that cybercriminals are generally looking for.

After that attempt failed, the hackers resorted to extortion. They offered EA the chance to pay a ransom to buy the data back and not risk its full leak. According to The Record, the company was not fazed by the ransom request, ignoring it completely.

The end of this saga brings us to today. The hackers have now leaked the entire set of data that they obtained, and it is now being widely distributed through torrent sites. In a statement to The Record, EA ensured that no customer data was compromised as part of this leak.

It doesn’t seem like EA is overly concerned with this breach. The company seems to believe that it will have little to no effect on its business and it has already made security improvements in response. Still, the company is working with law enforcement officials to help investigate this criminal matter.

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