Xbox Series X becomes victim of GPU source code theft

In an official statement made on Wednesday, AMD announced that a hacker stole source files for several of its GPUs. Stolen files included information about the Xbox X Series among other details. The company stated that it was made aware of the leak in December 2019 and after multiple notices, GitHub took down the repositories containing the source code.

Some of these repositories contained details for AMD's Navi 10 and Navi 21 GPUs, Torrentfreak reported. The stolen Arden GPU is the codename for the next-gen Xbox Series X console.

In the hacker's words — The individual behind the leak spoke with TorrentFreak and explained what her plan was. She told the website that if she didn't find a lucrative buyer for the rest of the code, she would "just leak everything." This unnamed individual also explained how she accessed AMD's GPU source code:

In November 2019, I found AMD Navi GPU hardware source codes in a hacked computer. The user didn’t take any effective action against the leak of the codes.

Multiple factors led to the eventual illegal extraction. "The source code was unexpectedly achieved from an unprotected computer//server through some exploits," she said. "I later found out about the files inside it. They weren’t even protected properly or even encrypted with anything, which is just sad." Oof.

Little skin off AMD's nose — It would be understandable if AMD responded with fiery criticism but in its official statement on the subject, it sounded calm, perhaps even unbothered. "While we are aware the perpetrator has additional files that have not been made public," it said, "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."

See you in court, sweetie — Still, AMD is pursuing the legal route to bring the hacker to justice. It notes, "We are working closely with law enforcement officials and other experts as a part of an ongoing criminal investigation." From what she's told TorrentFreak, legal consequences don't seem so troubling to the individual behind it all.

"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," she told the website. "So why not just leak it to everyone?"