An allegedly hacker has stolen the source code for AMD’s Big Navi and Arden GPUs, reports from TorrentFreak informs that small portion of the code had been posted on GitHub. The person is demanding for $100 million for the code. The allegedly hacker has told Torrent Freak that “if they doesn’t get a buyer for the remainder of the code, they will dump the whole lot online.”
TorrentFreak tried to get more information about the situation, they managed to learn that the person claims to be female, claims to have the package included code for Navi 10 and Navi 21 devices. She confirms that the source code for the Xbox Series X GPU ‘Arden’ is part of the negotiation. “I haven’t spoken to AMD about it because I am pretty sure that instead of accepting their mistake and moving on, they will try to sue me. So why not just leak it to everyone?” Said the person holding AMD’s source code.
TorrentFreak managed to find links to a file-hosting website where an archive that was supposed to be the source code was located. The leaker told TorrentFreak that one “source code packet” was already leaked on GiftHub. Neither TorrentFreak or Gaming Instincts can confirm the veracity of the files that where available on Gifthub due to their criminal nature.
Official statement from AMD has issued an official statement, the manufacturer has also asked Gifthub to remove their leaked source code from their website, a petition that was conceded by Gifthub.
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.
Is uncertain how could the leak affect the Xbox Series X on the short or long run, but considering the risk and the demands of the leaker, both Microsoft and AMD might be tempted to pay the ransom and further investigate how the code was leaked. Microsoft is clearly the most aggravated company by this leak. AMD might change architecture in the following years, but Microsoft has picked AMD Arden as a long term solution for their console market. What do you think will happen, can AMD find the leaker before all of its source code is leaked online? Could Microsoft step up and pay the ransom? Let me know in the comment section below.
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