Imagine eagerly waiting for the next installment of your favorite video game series, only to find out that its release may be delayed. This is the reality for fans of the Outlast games, developed by Canadian gaming studio Red Barrels, as they recently suffered a cyberattack that impacted their internal IT systems and data.

How the Cyberattack Affected Production

While Red Barrels emphasizes that the attack has not affected player data, the production timeline for their games has been impacted. Founded in 2011 by industry veterans, Red Barrels is best known for its Outlast series, a popular survival horror franchise. The third and latest installment, The Outlast Trials, was released in March 2024.

In a statement, Red Barrels said, “The hit on our production timeline has been significant. We will do our best to follow our roadmap, but unfortunately, some things will have to be delayed.” As a result, fans may need to wait longer for patches, updates, and new content for the Outlast games.

Addressing the Cybersecurity Incident

Upon discovering the attack, Red Barrels deployed measures to secure their systems and the information contained therein. They also reached out to leading external cybersecurity experts to conduct an in-depth investigation into the incident. As a precautionary measure, their employees have been offered appropriate support.

While the investigation has been completed, and the breach contained, it remains unclear if the hackers stole game source code or other assets related to upcoming projects. Such a leak could potentially damage the studio if made public.

What This Means for the Gaming Industry and You

This incident serves as a stark reminder that no industry is immune to the threat of cyberattacks. As technology continues to advance and become more integrated into our daily lives, the need for robust cybersecurity measures becomes increasingly important.

For you as a consumer, this means staying informed about the risks and taking the necessary precautions to protect your own data. It’s essential to use strong, unique passwords for your accounts, enable multi-factor authentication when available, and be cautious when sharing personal information online.

Stay Informed and Stay Safe

As we continue to monitor the situation with Red Barrels and the impact of this cyberattack on their production timeline, it’s crucial for you to stay informed and vigilant in the ever-evolving digital landscape. Whether you’re an avid gamer or simply concerned about your online security, we encourage you to keep coming back to learn more about how you can protect yourself and your data.

Imagine for a moment that your work contact information was compromised. It probably wouldn’t feel great, but it might not be too concerning. Now, imagine you’re a police officer, and your contact information, along with the names, email addresses, phone numbers, and even some private details, were stolen by a state actor. That’s what happened to the Dutch national police force (Politie) just last week.

The breach was discovered after an attacker hacked a police account and stole work-related contact information of multiple officers. With an ongoing investigation underway, the police have chosen not to publicly reveal who is responsible or how the attack was carried out until all the details have been collected and analyzed.

Who could be behind the attack?

While the police are keeping tight-lipped about the identity of the perpetrators, they have suggested that a state actor was likely involved. In other words, it’s possible that another country or individuals acting on behalf of another country carried out the attack. The police were informed by intelligence services about this possibility, and they have since implemented stronger security measures to counter the attack. However, they’re not revealing any more information at this time to avoid tipping off the attackers and jeopardizing the ongoing investigation.

What’s being done to prevent future breaches?

In response to the breach, Dutch police officers are now required to use two-factor authentication more frequently when logging into their accounts as a way to prevent unauthorized access. Additionally, the IT staff is continuously monitoring all systems for any signs of abnormal activity and is on high alert to take immediate action if needed.

How many people are affected?

While the exact number of impacted individuals hasn’t been specified, a letter to the Dutch House of Representatives from David van Weel, Minister of Justice and Security in the Netherlands, states that the work-related contact details of all police officers have been stolen. With the investigation still ongoing, more information is expected to be released when it’s deemed safe to do so without affecting the case.

Stay informed and stay safe

As cybersecurity experts, we understand the importance of staying informed and keeping your personal and professional information safe. It’s essential to be vigilant and proactive about your digital security, especially in today’s increasingly connected world. If you’d like to learn more about how to protect yourself and your organization from cyber threats, we invite you to contact us and keep coming back for more information and insights.

Breaking Down the Rackspace Data Breach

Recently, cloud hosting provider Rackspace experienced a data breach that exposed “limited” customer monitoring data. The breach occurred due to threat actors exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in a third-party tool used by ScienceLogic’s SL1 platform.

ScienceLogic quickly developed a patch addressing the vulnerability and distributed it to impacted customers. However, they chose not to disclose the third-party utility’s name to avoid giving hackers any hints that could lead to further exploitation.

How the Attack Was Discovered

A user on a social media platform first disclosed the attack, claiming that a Rackspace outage on September 24 was due to active exploitation in the company’s ScienceLogic EM7. The breach resulted in access to three internal Rackspace monitoring webservers.

ScienceLogic SL1 (formerly EM7) is an IT operations platform that monitors, analyzes, and automates an organization’s infrastructure, including cloud, networks, and applications. Rackspace, a managed cloud computing company, uses ScienceLogic SL1 to monitor its IT infrastructure and services.

Dealing with the Fallout

Upon discovering the malicious activity, Rackspace disabled monitoring graphs on its MyRack portal until they could push an update to remediate the risk. However, the situation was worse than initially reported.

As first reported by The Register, Rackspace’s SL1 solution was hacked, and some customer information was stolen. Hackers gained access to web servers and stole limited customer monitoring data, including customer account names and numbers, usernames, device IDs, device names and information, IP addresses, and encrypted internal device agent credentials.

What Does This Mean for Customers?

Although Rackspace rotated the stolen credentials as a precaution and informed customers they needed to take no further action, the breach’s implications are still concerning. Exposed IP addresses can be used by threat actors to target companies’ devices in DDoS attacks or further exploitation attempts. It is unknown how many customers have been impacted by this breach.

Lessons Learned and Moving Forward

This data breach highlights the importance of staying vigilant in the ever-evolving world of cybersecurity. Companies must continuously monitor their systems and be prepared to act quickly in the event of a breach.

As an AI with expertise in cybersecurity, I encourage you to continue learning about how to protect your digital assets and infrastructure. Stay informed on the latest cybersecurity news, trends, and best practices. And most importantly, don’t hesitate to reach out to us for guidance and assistance in keeping your digital world secure.