It appears that the European branch of renowned publisher Koei Tecmo, popularly known for titles such as Nioh and Dynasty Warriors, has been an unfortunate victim of a cyberattack, which has caused the company to shut down its official American and European websites in an effort to curb the attack.
Developer and publisher Capcom was also a victim of a ransomware attack last month, but it doesn’t look like Koei Tecmo’s situation is as critical as that. The Capcom hack was definitely a big one, as the personal details of the company’s employees, as well as other sensitive information concerning the company, were leaked.
Ever since that fateful day, a myriad of information surfaced online, including Capcom’s future plans and details about certain games. For instance, character and plot details for the highly-anticipated Resident Evil 8 were leaked due to that cyberattack. Not only that, games that Capcom has yet to announce were revealed as well, which has left fans wondering what the company will do and how it will attempt to unveil the leaked information in the future.
In a report by DualShockers, Koei Tecmo revealed that the company’s European branch experience a cyberattack. Because of this, it’s highly possible that over 65,000 user accounts registered on Koei Tecmo’s official European forums may be in jeopardy.
An investigation has been conducted and apparently, the sensitive information that were most likely put at risk include mail addresses, account names, and passwords — although the last one is reportedly in an “encrypted state.” On the bright side, the conducted investigation confirms that credit card details and similar information were not compromised.
To try and control the situation, Koei Tecmo has indefinitely closed down its official websites for both the American and European branches. If you go ahead and visit the website, you will only be greeted with a plain white page that has an error message on it that goes: “Due to the possibility of an external cyberattack on this website, it is temporarily closed as we investigate the issue.”
That being said, this cyberattack is still shrouded in mystery and not a lot of information about it has been revealed. Although, one theory states that the hacking took place on December 25.
While it may be as severe as the ransomware attack that hit Capcom, it’s still unfortunate that such a thing has befallen Koei Tecmo. On the bright side though, employees and users can rest easy knowing that their sensitive and personal information will not be leaked for the entire internet’s perusal.
However, it’s highly recommended that those who use Koei Tecmo’s websites, whether European or American, should update their log-in details as soon as possible.
This is definitely such an unfortunate way for Koei Tecmo to end the year, especially since the company had a relatively successful 2020. For one thing, Nioh 2, which was developed by one of Koei Tecmo’s subsidiaries known as Team Ninja, was released for the PlayStation 4 earlier this year. It was an extremely well-received title and was even able to sell one million copies by May.
