Insider Gaming has been able to verify the legitimacy of an alleged Activision data breach from Twitter user @vxunderground, who recently posted key Call of Duty details to his Twitter account overnight.
Although the user has only posted several images on Twitter regarding the release slate of Modern Warfare 2 DLC’s, Insider Gaming has been able to obtain the entirety of the data breach. The data obtained contains plans for Modern Warfare 2’s upcoming DLC’s, Call of Duty 2023 (Codenamed Jupiter), and Call of Duty 2024 (Codenamed Cerberus), as well as sensitive employee information.
Employee information obtained includes full names, corporate emails and phone numbers, job opening offer amounts, places of work, and more.
Speaking with vxunderground, Activision was breached on December 4, 2022, and the files were passed on to him recently by a single individual who was unable to sell the contents of the breach. In conversation, it was said that the hacker was able to breach a Human Resources (HR) employee’s computer, which the hacker was able to scrape easily, gaining access to the information.
Although not confirmed at this time, it appears that the hack was limited to that one employee’s computer. However, given the responsibilities given to an HR employee, the computer contained employee details of all Activision employees. It’s understood that no player/user data has been compromised.
Details on Modern Warfare II DLC plans have already leaked online, but as the information was obtained in December 2022, some details already appear outdated. Earlier this month, Insider Gaming exclusively reported key dates and details on Call of Duty 2023, which you can read here.
Insider Gaming was unable to verify if Activision made its employees aware of the data breach and has reached out to Activision for comment, but did not receive a reply before publication.
UPDATE – Activision has issued the following statement:
“The security of our data is paramount, and we have comprehensive information security protocols in place to ensure its confidentiality. On December 4, 2022, our information security team swiftly addressed an SMS phishing attempt and quickly resolved it. Following a thorough investigation, we determined that no sensitive employee data, game code, or player data was accessed.”
For more from Insider Gaming, check out our exclusive about 4A Games’ Metro Exodus sequel being fully playable.
