Incident Details
An incident of ransomware occurred last Friday affecting the “Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore” MMORPG, resulting in the loss of 17,000 player accounts along with their in-game possessions and progress. “Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore” is a classic MMORPG that can be played for free, created by the independent game publisher known as ‘Gellyberry Studios.’ This game is currently in the ‘Early Access’ stage on Steam, indicating that it is still under development and relies on monthly subscriptions and support from the community for further progress. The official Discord channel for the game announced that cybercriminals targeted the main server with ransomware, encrypting all stored data, including local backup files, and requesting payment in exchange for a decryption key.
Incident
How Did the Breach Happen?
Ransomware attackers targeted the primary server of the game and encrypted all information, including the data stored on the backup drives.
What Data has been Compromised?
The incident led to the deletion of 17,000 user accounts, along with their virtual possessions and game advancement.
Why Did the company's Security Measures Fail?
The reason behind the failure of the company's security protocols leading to the ransomware attack remains uncertain.
What Immediate Impact Did the Breach Have on the company?
The breach resulted in an immediate loss of 17,000 player accounts along with their in-game items and progress.
How could this have been prevented?
In order to avoid similar incidents in the future, the company has the option to introduce more robust security protocols, including frequent data backups and encryption, in addition to providing training for staff on the dangers of phishing and malware.
What have we learned from this data breach?
The incident underscores the significance of utilizing robust security protocols and performing routine data backups to safeguard user information.
Summary of Coverage
The MMORPG "Ethyrial: Echoes of Yore" recently experienced a ransomware incident where 17,000 player accounts, along with their in-game items and progress, were compromised. The attack, conducted by ransomware perpetrators, involved encrypting all data, including backups stored locally. The company is currently engaged in manual restoration of the impacted systems and is also enhancing security protocols to avert similar incidents in the future.