One of the earliest and original gaming developers—and among the most successful—is Japan-based Capcom. Youths of the 80s and 90s are sure to remember Capcom for its wildly popular and long-lived game series, including Mega Man, Street Fighter, and Resident Evil. The giant has developed games for arcades and home consoles alike, and has earned its reputation as a top game-maker.
Unfortunately, however, near the end of 2020 Capcom was the victim of a data breach, following a string of other attacks against game developers. This was clearly the work of someone more sinister and insidious than any Dr. Wily Robot Master, Shadaloo warrior, or Umbrella Corporation T virus-infected mutant. One of the consequences of the hack was that it led to the publication of a list of upcoming titles the company had under development through 2024.
The published list was not the only data compromised in the attack. This breach both destroyed and encrypted data on Capcom’s systems, and the well-known criminal organization Ragnar Locker demanded a ransom in exchange for the return of the developer’s data. This could mean that source code was possibly taken and that the hard work Capcom had put into its upcoming releases would be impacted, as knock-off versions become available for purchase.
Power-up
Capcom stated that its consumer and employee data may have been compromised, and the breach involved the company contacting and involving Japanese and American authorities. Two of the company’s most valuable assets, however, were affected in this breach—intellectual property and products.
As video games have become more complex and detailed—not to mention expensive to produce—they require large teams of people working months and even years to complete, from designers and programmers to composers and writers. This effectively means that a company like Capcom funded the creativity and intensive work that an outsider was able to steal and potentially profit from.
Video games have become a lucrative industry, and one completely reliant on computers and connections. This puts both developers and gamers at risk. Much like film studios, game developers must take the financial risk of investing in titles while funding long development periods and awaiting any return on investment. Gamers are likewise potential victims as cybercriminals target computers and provider servers.
God Mode
Game developers must protect their digital assets, as cybercriminals have increasingly targeted them and are certain to continue to do so as the industry continues its meteoric growth. Breaches can cost companies millions of dollars in repairs and lost revenue. Successful attacks can also erode trust among gamers and hurt a company’s reputation. In the case of the Capcom breach, it also means lost data, stressing the need for backup solutions.
SecureDrive provides a comprehensive line of security solutions, such as the USB port-blocking SecureGuard, which helps protect computers running Windows OS against potential breaches from within by allowing management over ports.
The hardware-encrypted SecureDrive BT and SecureDrive KP are excellent choices for use on computers when creating the game, and range in storage size from 250 GB to an impressive 8 TB. Both drives require degrees of authentication to unlock, meaning they can be restricted to trusted employees and can be locked to prevent unauthorized access. With a Remote Management license, the BT drive can be restricted within certain spatial boundaries and start-and-stop times.
For testers, both the BT and KP drives can easily be reformatted to compatible systems, such as Xbox or PlayStation consoles, as external drive storage on which they can keep game data.
To learn more about how SecureDrive products can work to help your game studio, contact one of our experts at 1-424-363-8535.