Hackers hold Xbox Series X GPU code as hostage, demand $100m ransom

Microsoft had revealed its upcoming gaming console Xbox Series X's full specifications a couple of weeks ago

A hacker or a group of hackers has reportedly ripped the graphic processing source code of Xbox Series X GPU and kept it as a hostage to extract a massive ransom from Microsoft.

AMD, the GPU manufacturer and the maker of Microsoft's upcoming gaming console Xbox Series X, has disclosed the incident in a cryptic statement via its official blog.

According to the gaming news website, IGN and Microsoft related online news blog MSPowerUser has confirmed that the attackers have demanded a whopping $100 million ransom. The attackers have also leaked a part of the compromised GPU code on GitHub. But AMD took down the code from the online code repository. Even after the removal of the source code, AMD is confident that the leak won't pose any threat to Xbox Series X users.

"In December 2019, we were contacted by someone who claimed to have test files related to a subset of our current and future graphics products, some of which were recently posted online, but has since been taken down," said AMD in its official blog.

"While we are aware the perpetrator has additional files that have not been made public, we believe the stolen graphics IP is not core to the competitiveness or security of our graphics products. We are not aware of the perpetrator possessing any other AMD IP.," they have added.

Though AMD has stated that it will take the matter to law and enforcement authorities, there is no word from Xbox manufacturer Microsoft yet.

Microsoft revealed its upcoming gaming console Xbox Series X's full specifications a couple of weeks ago. Sony has also laid out the detailed specifications of its next gaming console PlayStation 5 following Microsoft's announcement. Both the gaming consoles are expected to be unveiled later this year or at the beginning of 2021.

The Xbox series X will pack an octa-core CPU with Zen2 cores clocked at 3.8GHz and 16 GB GDDR6 RAM coupled with 1 TB custom NVMe SSD.

Xbox Series X
Representative Image: Xbox Series X Microsoft
Related topics : Cybersecurity
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