Widespread Hacking of 2K Social Media Accounts Prompts Apology
On the 15th of November, social media accounts belonging to publisher 2K, including the accounts representing many of its largest games, were the victims of a major hack. These include accounts for Borderlands, 2K itself, and at least some of the 2K sport games, for example. In the short window before the hack was brought to a halt, the hacker posted highly offensive messages on many of the accounts, while altering the pages of others. The 2K hack has prompted the company to release a formal apology on all of its social media pages.
The 2K Hack: Numerous Social Media Accounts Affected
“Social media accounts across the 2K label were compromised early Friday evening,” explains 2K’s statement, “Unfortunately, offensive material was posted that does not reflect the values of 2K or our partners. We condemn these posts and apologise to everyone offended by the content.”
While the 2K hack was certainly widespread, the company’s containment of the situation was relatively swift. The company was able to regain control of their pages roughly three hours after the hack began. However, it remains unclear how such a large-scale seizure was able to happen at all. While social media account hacking is not exactly uncommon, it is certainly unusual for a hacker to gain access to so many high-profile accounts simultaneously. One message issued during the hack claimed that the hacker’s alias was ‘Nublom’. While it seems likely that this individual was behind the hack, it’s currently unknown if this was the work of a single hacker, or a larger group. Whatever the case, it’s unlikely that the true identity of the perpetrator(s) will ever emerge.
Fortunately, it seems as if the purpose of the hack was merely to stage an act of brief digital vandalism. It’s unclear what the hacker’s motives were, save merely to cause chaos or embarass 2K. At present, it doesn’t appear that any more significant damage was done; the hacker didn’t leak anybody’s personal details, for instance, or steal any financial data. No doubt 2K will begin an internal investigation in order to get to the bottom of how this happened.