A week after several videos of The Last of Us Part II were leaked on the Internet showing spoilers and important points of the narrative story, today the journalist Jason Schreier indicated that hackers broke into the servers of Naughty Dog who might have leaked all the materials related to the title.
“OK: After talking to two people with direct knowledge of how TLOU2 leaked as well as some Naughty Dog employees, I have a good idea of what happened. Short version: hackers found a security vulnerability in a patch for an older ND game and used it to get access to ND’s servers,” Schreier said.
OK: After talking to two people with direct knowledge of how TLOU2 leaked as well as some Naughty Dog employees, I have a good idea of what happened. Short version: hackers found a security vulnerability in a patch for an older ND game and used it to get access to ND’s servers.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 3, 2020
He also indicated that rumors that the leaks were made by disgruntled employees are not true. “I think the footage that leaked is from devs playing an early build (I haven’t watched it). Most importantly, rumors of this being an act of protest by a contractor whose pay was robbed are not true. (ND actually extended pay and healthcare benefits for contractors due to COVID),” Schreier further commented.
OK: After talking to two people with direct knowledge of how TLOU2 leaked as well as some Naughty Dog employees, I have a good idea of what happened. Short version: hackers found a security vulnerability in a patch for an older ND game and used it to get access to ND’s servers.
— Jason Schreier (@jasonschreier) May 3, 2020
Hours earlier, the Twitter user PixelButts had already given a more technical explanation of the possible method of hacking Naughty Dog’s servers, indicating that the use of access keys and IDs from an old game of the company (possibly the first The Last of Us) to upload files to the server may have exposed the videos and information for the leak.
From his Twitter account, he also indicates that, as far as is known, it is not likely that an employee or a service provider of the studio is necessarily involved with the leak of the videos. “The point: there’s plenty of room to argue an ND employee is involved, but from the evidence (which I have submitted to ND back in February) stands to point to an ND-made security vulnerability that was exploited. Not an angry employee,” says PixelButts.
What's the point I'm making?
The point: there's plenty of room to argue an ND employee is involved, but from the evidence (which I have submitted to ND back in February) stands to point to an ND-made security vulnerability that was exploited. Not an angry employee
— PixelButts (@PixelButts) May 3, 2020
Sony, for its part, previously stated that the leaks did not come from members of Sony Interactive Entertainment or Naughty Dog.
The Last of Us Part II will release on June 19 for the PlayStation 4.
