Graphics card manufacturer Nvidia has been the victim of a ransomware attack in the past few days, according to reporting from Bloomberg.
Nvidia released a public statement about the attack on Friday, acknowledging it happened but not going into detail about the extent of the hack. Nvidia’s statement clarified: “We are still working to evaluate the nature and scope of the event and don’t have any additional information to share at this time.”
Bloomberg’s source at Nvidia characterized the hack as relatively minor, and denied it had any connection to the recent outbreak of war between Russia and Ukraine. There have been concerns that Russia would pursue cyber warfare measures on western countries in retaliation for sanctions against Russia and aid on behalf of Ukraine.
Reporting from The Telegraph and PC Gamer’s sister site, Tom’s Hardware, does paint a more serious picture of the attack’s extent. Nvidia’s email system and developer tools have allegedly been down for several days, either directly due to the attack or as a defensive measure from Nvidia.
In a further wrinkle to the story, HotHardware reports that a ransomware group called “Lapsus” has claimed responsibility for the attack, posting redacted screenshots of directory listings and proprietary source code they are threatening to release in full if Nvidia does not pay.
Bizarrely, it seems Lapsus has suffered a ransomware attack of their own, one it is characterizing as a retaliation from Nvidia. That seems out-of-character for a $600 billion dollar corporation, but the increasing risk of cybersecurity threats may be encouraging corporations to think outside the box when it comes to countermeasures. Expect to see further clarification from Nvidia about the attack and its ramifications in the coming days.