Capcom, Creator of Resident Evil, Hit by Bitcoin Ransomware Attack

Last Updated on 11 November 2020 by CryptoTips.eu


Jeroen Kok

Jeroen is one of the lead copywriters on Cryptotips.eu and discusses all recent events in the crypto market. This includes news updates, but also price analyzes and more. He developed his passion for cryptocurrency during the bull run in 2017. He has learned a lot since then. The combination of cryptocurrency and creative writing is perfect for Jeroen and an excellent way to share his knowledge with a wide audience. Find me on LinkedIn / jeroen@cryptotips.eu

Except for a year of pandemic plague, a year of extreme weather and great year for both crypto and DeFi, 2020 is also turning out to be a time of many Bitcoin ransomware attacks. Criminal actors have become specialized in inserting viruses into company computer systems and demanding Bitcoin as payment for releasing those files again. Some of the most noteworthy ones were the Enel group, which was hit twice already, and Tesla’s gigafactory, where the attack could be halted.

The reporting on this is each time detriment to the world of crypto as it highlights the in earlier times more important relationship between criminals and crypto. You may recall that Bitcoin found its first use on the illegal marketplace known as the Silk Road. Earlier this week, the FBI was able to retrieve no less than $1 billion in Bitcoin from there.

Capcom victim of ransomware attack

This time round, it would appear a known Japanese gaming company saw its servers hacked and installed with ransomware. Capcom, which has created known titles such as Street Fighter, Resident Evil and Mega Man, admitted via a press release that the firm’s cyber defenses had been breached. It stated:

Beginning in the early morning hours of November 02, 2020 some of the Capcom Group networks experienced issues that affected access to certain systems, including email and file servers. 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 02.

According to reporting in Japanese media, the hackers were able to obtain 1 terabyte of unencrypted files from Capcom’s corporate networks, both in its headquarters in Japan as well as in sites in the US and Canada.

In exchange for release of the files on no less than 2,000 computers, the criminals asked for $11 million in Bitcoin. It is unknown whether Capcom paid any of the requested sum.