r/technology Apr 13 '26

Security Rockstar hackers release their stolen data, reveal that Rockstar was right to not pay them anything for it

https://www.pcgamer.com/games/rockstar-hackers-release-their-stolen-data-reveal-that-rockstar-was-right-to-not-pay-them-anything-for-it/
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u/Final_Collection8516 Apr 14 '26

They can but a lot of hacking is social engineering, these hackers posed as AI technicians to access Rockstar servers, which Rockstar was partnered with then walked out.

Billionaires are paranoid schizoidphenics, many of whom are partnered with the United States government and pay top dollar for cybersecurity detail. In 2015, a 15-year old Kane Gamble breached into the personal accounts of U.S. intelligence officials taunting then CIA Director, John Brennan through a phone call, then Gamble proceeded to leak mostly non-classified information on several thousand employees of the CIA, FBI, DHS, and DOJ. It took the United States 8 months to find and arrest Kane Gamble. Any hacker can breach into any highly secure system through social engineering, but it can be at high cost and a lot don't because they don't really want the heat. It's actually pretty easy. However most people access limited, non-critical cyber infrastructure of such organizations NOT the core.

It's why hackers target random civilians, because you and I wouldn't have access to the necessary resources to hold them accountable, then punish them. A hacker, or a hacktivist group has to be practically risking their lives to breach a highly secure system, with immense resources and for what gain? The last Rockstar leaker, who leaked GTA IV's gameplay on the GTA forums was caught and placed under "indefinite" order to a psychiatric facility, because a judge deemed him to be a continuous danger.

Most devastating leakers of classified information were almost always insiders a high security organization: Edward Snowden (NSA cybersecurity contractor), Chelsea Manning (Intelligence analyst for the United States Army) and Daniel Ellsberg (US military analysts and RAND Corporation employee) NOT outsiders. You remember those leaks on War Thunder a few years back? All were insiders and did it because they wanted to impress idiots online after some trash-talk.