Xbox Series X has been one of the main subjects to follow for gaming, especially since it plans to launch this December. The system’s technical information has been slowly revealed to the public over time, as well. Everything seems all good and well for Xbox fans, right?
Unfortunately, this is not the case in the slightest. AMD’s new range of Navi graphics chips, the same ones used to power Xbox Series X, is a product of expensive research and development effort. According to a TorrentFreak report, a hacker got their hands on the source code, and wants a lot of money to return it.
What The Hacker Wants To Exchange For The Xbox Series X GPU
This report’s information comes in the form of a DMCA notice sent to the development platform Github. The hacker goes by the alias of “xxXsoullessXxx”, and is seeking a buyer for what she claims to be the source code for three key device types, Navi 10, Navi 21, and the Xbox Series X GPU “Arden”.
Github has removed the repository at AMD’s request soon after. You can read a copy of the request here.
TorrentFreak also reached out to the hacker themselves. xxXsoullessXxx explained that she “found AMD Navi GPU hardware source codes in a hacked computer” in November 2019. “The user didn’t take any effective action against the leak of the codes,” she added, also explaining that it was extracted from an unprotected source.
xxXsoullessXxx has valued this information at a quite steep $100 million. In addition, the leaker also said, “If I get no buyer, I will just leak everything.” AMD took note of this, too, and released a statement regarding the leak. Their statement reads:
“At AMD, data security and the protection of our intellectual property are a priority. In December 2019, we were contacted by someone who claimed to have test files related to a subset of our current and future graphics products, some of which were recently posted online, but have since been taken down.
While we are aware the perpetrator has additional files that have not been made public, we believe the stolen graphics IP is not core to the competitiveness or security of our graphics products. We are not aware of the perpetrator possessing any other AMD IP.
We are working closely with law enforcement officials and other experts as a part of an ongoing criminal investigation.”
What do you think of our report of the Xbox Series X GPU being stolen? Do you think that AMD will make headway in this investigation before long? Let us know your thoughts in the comment section below.
