Data Recovery Digest

Capcom is one of the most prolific video game companies in the world. Following their earlier success with such hits like the Mega Man franchise, and later on, Resident Evil, it's safe to say that they have extensive databases that are nearly overflowing with customer info. Unfortunately, systems of this size and magnitude are prime targets for hackers.

The Original Breach

Originally occurring in November 2020 via a ransomware attack, the breach turned out to be much worse than originally thought. While officials with Capcom were quick to issue a statement regarding the hack, they were adamant that no personal information was stolen or compromised.

Capcom's statement reads, in part: "The company has confirmed that this was due to unauthorized access carried out by a third party, and that it has halted some operations of its internal networks as of November 2. Capcom expressed its deepest regret for any inconvenience this may cause to its various stakeholders. Further, it stated that at present there is no indication that any customer information was breached."

As it turns out, however, nothing could be further from the truth.

Later reports, which didn't come until January 2021, confirmed the actual damage. Not only did the attack compromise the personal information of approximately 390,000 individuals, but hackers were also able to gain access to various sales reports, financial analyses, and game development documentation. Some of the games were still in development and hadn't yet been released to the public.

Examining the Real Damage

In total, hackers were able to gain access to thousands of datasets containing information from customers, current and past employees, shareholders, support desk technicians, and more. This could potentially include full names home addresses, phone numbers, email addresses, digital images, and more.

According to the latest reports, it seems that credit card numbers were not exposed in the hack. This is due to the fact that Capcom uses a third-party service provider for all financial transactions. However, this is of little comfort to those who were already affected in other ways.

Capcom's most recent blog post reads, in part: "As an update to its ongoing investigation, the company has verified that the personal information of an additional 16,406 people has been compromised, making the cumulative number since this investigation began 16,415 people. Further, the company has also ascertained that the potential maximum number of customers, business partners and other external parties etc., whose personal information may have been compromised in the attack is approximately 390,000 people."

While it seems that the full scope of the attack has been disclosed, it's difficult to say what the long-term fallout will look like. If stakeholders lose faith in the company, or if any of their future games were directly affected, their financial future could be in jeopardy.

The team with Capcom has already begun notifying everyone who has had their data compromised in the recent attack. For more information about Capcom, including details on the data breach or any breaking news, please visit their official website at www.capcom.com.