Nintendo Addresses Alleged Third-Party Data Breach, Denies System Compromise
Nintendo of North America has responded to reports of an alleged small third-party data breach affecting some employees, stating that its own systems have not been compromised. The issue involves TinyPulse, a service used for internal employee feedback, which a hacking group called ShadowByte$ claims to have breached. The group reportedly posted a $2 million ransomware demand after allegedly stealing 859MB of internal corporate data, including employee satisfaction surveys and private messages, from TinyPulse.
Nintendo of North America has confirmed it is aware of an alleged small third-party data breach impacting some of its employees. The company stated that its "systems have not been compromised" and that the issue involves TinyPulse, a third-party service it uses for internal employee surveys.
Earlier this week, a hacking group known as ShadowByte$ reportedly posted a threat on a cybercrime forum, alleging the theft of 859MB of internal corporate data from TinyPulse. This data reportedly includes employee satisfaction surveys, private messages, and the names of Nintendo employees.
The hacking group reportedly issued a $2 million ransomware demand to prevent the release of the data. After allegedly failing to secure results with Nintendo, the group reportedly attempted to extort TinyPulse directly.
Nintendo downplayed the sensitivity of the compromised information, describing the alleged TinyPulse breach as "limited to internal survey content comprising a small subset of our employees." The company also noted that most of the information involved dates back several years and emphasized that no personal customer or financial data had been accessed.
Nintendo of North America affirmed it is working with the service provider, TinyPulse, to address the issue. According to Mashable Tech, TinyPulse is part of WebMD Health Services.
