SECRET Xbox Series X code has reportedly been stolen by a hacker – and is being held to ransom for $100million.
The Xbox Series X is Microsoft’s upcoming console, a next-gen gaming machine set to launch towards the end of 2020.
Graphics firm AMD – which makes processors for the Xbox – revealed the hack in a blog post.
Fragments of the code behind a number of AMD graphics devices were posted to GitHub, a website where developers share work.
And according to an IGN report, the person who claims to have stolen the data is asking for $100million – or all of the code will be published.
“At AMD, data security and the protection of our intellectual property are a priority,” AMD wrote.
“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 have since been taken down.
“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.
“We are working closely with law enforcement officials and other experts as a part of an ongoing criminal investigation.”
AMD is one of the world’s biggest graphics card firms.
And the graphical prowess of the Xbox Series X will play a large large in the console’s success.
According to TorrentFreak, a hacker has somehow obtained source code for Navi 10, Navi 21 and Arden devices.
The latter represents the GPU that will power the upcoming Xbox Series X.
It’s not clear how the data was obtained, but it could represent a significant risk to Microsoft’s gaming business.
Competitors could use leaked source code to gain a competitive advantage.
And hackers could dig deep into code to find holes that they could exploit for illicit gains.
We asked AMD whether the data was being held to ransom, but the company declined to comment due to the ongoing legal investigation.
HOAR has asked Xbox for comment and will update this story with any response.
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