After Red Hat, Hackers Target Nintendo: Crimson Collective Claims Massive Data Breach

Nintendo may have been the victim of a hacker attack in which internal data was apparently stolen. A group called Crimson Collective claims to have overcome the Japanese gaming company’s security measures.

Screenshot should show folders with internal data

The hacker group Crimson Collective claims that they have successfully hacked Nintendo. According to screenshots published online, the attackers are said to have accessed file folders containing Nintendo’s internal data. Official confirmation is still pending, while the attackers probably want to demand some kind of ransom from Nintendo. Company security specialists Hackmanac published a screenshot on X/Twitter that supposedly shows folders with files from game production, developer files and backups of other Nintendo data. However, it is still unclear whether this is simply an attempt at deception.

Hackers were also responsible for Red Hat attack

However, Crimson Collective is not a blank slate. The group was responsible for a major attack on open source software provider Red Hat, gaining unauthorized access to the company’s GitHub repositories and accessing around 570 gigabytes of internal code. Red Hat was then supposed to be blackmailed, but simply ignored the attackers’ demands.

Instead, since the hack, Red Hat has been working with law enforcement to investigate the case, while also providing assistance to affected customers. Crimson Collective could also try to use a similar tactic as in the case of Red Hat at Nintendo. If the attack was actually successful, Crimson Collective would first seek contact with Nintendo through official channels in order to obtain payment of a certain amount before the Japanese game manufacturer’s internal data is deleted.

If Nintendo doesn’t pay, leaks are likely to result, i.e. the unauthorized publication of the data previously captured in the attack. Gaming companies are becoming victims of hacker attacks more often. Probably the most high-profile attack in recent years led to the publication of parts of the source code for Grand Theft Auto 6, which is not scheduled to premiere until next year. Meanwhile, it is extremely unlikely that Nintendo will even officially confirm the now reported successful attack on its systems.