Rockstar got hacked. The data was junk. The secrets it revealed were not

About this episode

The episode discusses recent hacks involving Rockstar Games and an anonymous tip line service, revealing the implications of data breaches in cybersecurity.

A company that ran anonymous tip lines for 35,000 American schools - handling reports of bullying, weapons, and self-harm - boasted on its website that it had suffered zero security breaches in over 20 years. A hacker called Internet Yiff Machine thought that sounded like a challenge, with predictable results... Meanwhile, Rockstar Games gets hacked again - and the stolen data turns out to be less embarrassing than the financial secrets it accidentally revealed. GTA Online is still making half a billion dollars a year. Red Dead Redemption is not. All this and more in episode 464 of the "Smashing Security" podcast with cybersecurity keynote speaker and industry veteran Graham Cluley, joined this week by special guest BBC cybersecurity correspondent Joe Tidy. Plus! Don't miss our featured interview with Ryan Benson of Meter. EPISODE LINKS: Grinex exchange blames "Western intelligence" for $13.7M crypto hack - Bleeping Computer. Are Former Black Basta Affiliates Automating Executive Targeting? - Reliaquest. Apple is working on passcode bug locking out iPhone users - The Register. Hackers who stole crime tip records offering data cache for $10k - San. P3 Advertised 20+ Years and 0…

People in this episode

Host: Graham Cluley

Guest: Joe Tidy

Topics covered

• cybersecurity
• hacking
• data breaches
• gaming industry
• anonymous tip lines
• financial secrets

Keywords

• Rockstar Games
• hacking
• cybersecurity
• data breaches
• GTA Online
• Red Dead Redemption
• anonymous tip lines
• financial secrets

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Rockstar Games, Grinex, Apple, Portland police, BBC, Meter

More episodes of Smashing Security

• This AI worm just rewrote its own rules · June 10, 2026 · 46 min
• This AI security flaw might be impossible to fix · June 3, 2026 · 58 min
• What your Oura ring won't tell you · May 27, 2026 · 53 min
• High-speed train hacks and homicidal lawnmowers · May 20, 2026 · 56 min
• How ShinyHunters hacked the world's biggest universities · May 13, 2026 · 1h 4m
• Meta sees everything, Copy Fail, and a deepfake gets hired · May 6, 2026 · 1h 3m