Bandai Namco Suffers Data Breach Affecting Hundreds of Thousands of Players

Bandai Namco has reported a data leak affecting approximately 346,000 users amid a growing wave of cyberattacks targeting Japan’s gaming and technology sectors, following previous breaches at Sony and Capcom.

According to Kyodo News, the breach also affected an unspecified number of customers at Good Smile Company, the manufacturer of Nendoroid and Pop Up figures. The incident may have exposed email addresses at Bandai Namco, while Good Smile Company clients may have had their addresses and payment details compromised.

On Monday, Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi announced the creation of a special agency next week to combat the unprecedented wave of cyberattacks. Among the affected businesses is GMO Internet, a cloud data storage provider that has offered a reward of about $1 million for information on the hackers.

The surge in hacker activity coincides with the emergence of new generative AI tools and the discovery of a critical vulnerability in PHP-based software. Previously, Capcom reported data leaks affecting nearly 12 million people, while Sony reported breaches impacting approximately 2.6 million users.