On January 20, Riot Games announced on Twitter that several systems were compromised due to a social engineering attack. By definition, social engineering attackers use manipulation and human interactions to breach company security. For example, an individual may disguise themselves as a delivery driver or a janitor to infiltrate a company without being noticed. Although Riot Games provided minimal information in their initial announcement, they posted a Twitter update on January 24 that confirmed the details of the attack.
In this update, Riot Games explained that the attackers obtained source code for League of Legends, Teamfight Tactics, and a legacy anti-cheat platform. Even so, they reassured players that no personal information or player data was accessed during the attack. In the wake of these thefts, Riot states they received a ransom email from the perpetrators, but they will not pay the ransom. In full honesty, Riot Games writes that the exposure of source code may enable the creation of new cheats, but they are prepared to release hotfixes to their anti-cheat system if necessary.
Riot Games also explained that the exfiltrated source code contains experimental features, such as game modes and other potential changes to League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics. In response to this massive security breach, the developers have notified law enforcement and are working with several consultants to ensure this never happens again.
The most refreshing part of this update is near the end, where Riot Games claims they will release a full report "detailing the attackers' techniques," along with revealing "the areas where Riot's security controls failed." This upcoming report is an admirable act of transparency, especially in a field where players frequently feel out of the loop regarding game development. Overall, Riot Games has handled this social engineering attack quite well by using honest, trustworthy language and providing plenty of details to their concerned player base.
For more League of Legends and Teamfight Tactics articles, come check out The new League pass is less F2P-friendly than ever before and Best TFT Comps for Set 8 (January 2023) here on Pro Game Guides.
Published: Jan 24, 2023 01:20 pm