Aninternet leak is the unauthorized release of information over theinternet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computersoftware andsource code, and artistic works such as books oralbums. For example, a musical album is leaked if it has been made available to the public on the Internet before its official release date.
Amusic leak is an unauthorized release of music over the internet. Songs or albums may leak days or months before their scheduled release date. In other cases, the leaked material may be demos or scrapped work never intended for public release. Leaks often originate from hackers who gain unauthorized access to the online storage of an artist, label, producer, or journalist.
Source code leaks are usually caused by misconfiguration of software likeCVS orFTP which allow people to get source files through exploits, softwarebugs, or employees that have access to the sources or part of them revealing the code in order to harm the company.
There were many cases of source code leaks in the history of software development.
Developers may inadvertently leak source code by making mistakes when mastering. Two releases ofSpace Quest II contained parts of the source code to Sierra's AGI game engine,[1] and a particular release ofDouble Dragon II for the PC contained a deleted archive of the game source code.[2][3]
AsFraunhofer IIS released in 1994 had a low quality version of theirMP3 encoding software (l3enc), a hacker named SoloH gathered thesource code from the unprotected servers of theUniversity of Erlangen and developed a higher quality version, which started the MP3 revolution on the internet.[4][5][6][7]
In 2003, Axel Gembe, a Germanhacker, who had infiltratedValve's internal network months earlier, exploited a security hole inMicrosoft'sOutlook to get the complete source of the video gameHalf-Life 2. The source code was leaked online a week later, a playable version ofHalf-Life 2 wascompiled from the source code, revealing how unfinished it was. The leaks damaged morale at Valve and slowed development.[9] In March 2004, Gembe contactedGabe Newell, CEO of Valve, and identified himself, saying he was a fan and had not acted maliciously. Newell worked with theFBI to invite Gembe to a fake job interview, planning to have him arrested in the USA; however, police arrested him in Germany as they had already detected his actions.[10][11][12] The complete source was soon available in variousfile sharing networks.
Also in 2003, source code toDiebold Election Systems Inc.voting machines was leaked. Researchers atJohns Hopkins University andRice University published a critique of Diebold's products, based on an analysis of the software. They found, for example, that it would be easy to program acounterfeit voting card to work with the machines and then use it to cast multiple votes inside the voting booth.
In 2003 a Chinese hacker acquired the source code forLineage II and sold it to someone inCalifornia who then used it to create a bootleg version of the game, powered by his own servers. Despite warnings fromNCSoft that pirating an online game was considered illegal, he continued doing so for a few years, until theFederal Bureau of Investigation finally raided his home in 2007, seized the servers and permanently disabled the website that fronted his bootleg version ofLineage II.[13][14]
In 2003, one year after3dfx was bought byNvidia and support ended, the source code for their drivers leaked,[15] resulting infan-made, updated drivers.[16]
In 2004, a large portion of theWindows NT 4.0's source code and a small percentage (reportedly about 15%) ofWindows 2000 (formerly Windows NT)'s were leaked online.[17] The Windows 2000 (NT) source code leak was analysed by a writer for (now defunct) websiteKuro5hin who noted that while the code was generally well written, it allegedly contained about "a dozen" instances ofprofanity and the mildereuphemism "crap". The writer also noted that there were a lot of code hacks, with the "uglier" ones mostly being for compatibility with older programs and some hardware.[18] It was feared that because of the leak, the number of securityexploits would increase due to wider scrutiny of the source code. It was later discovered that the source of the leak originated fromMainsoft.[19][20]
Also in 2004, partial (800 MB) proprietary source code that drivesCisco Systems' networking hardware was made available in the internet. The site posted two files of source code written in theC programming language, which apparently enables some next-generationIPv6 functionality. News of the latest source code leak appeared on a Russian security site.[21]
In 2006,Anonymous hackers stole source code (about 1 GiB) forSymantec'spcAnywhere from the company's network. While confirmed in January 2012, it is still unclear how the hackers accessed the network.[22]
In December 2007 and January 8, aPirate Bay user published the sources of fiveIdera SQL products via BitTorrent.
In January 2011 the "stolen source code" ofKaspersky Anti-Virus 2008 was published on the Pirate Bay.
On May 20, 2011,EVE Online'ssource code was published by someone on aGitHub repository.[23] After being online for four days, CCP Games issued aDMCA take-down request which was followed by GitHub.[24]
On February 11, 2016, the source code of Opera'sPresto Browser engine was leaked to GitHub.[31] It remained unnoticed until January 12, 2017 and was taken down two days later in response to aDMCA request.[32][33]Opera Software has confirmed the authenticity of the source code.[34]
In June 2017 a small part of Microsoft'sWindows 10 source code leaked to the public. The leak was of the Shared Source Kit, a small portion of the source code given toOEMs to help with writing drivers.[35]
In February 2018, theiBootbootloader forApple operating systems' source code was leaked onto GitHub by an Apple engineer. The code was from 2016, and by the time it was leaked, iBoot had been restructured, making it obsolete.[36]
Some time during March 2018, Nintendo suffered asignificant leak when a hacker obtained an alleged 2 TB of confidential material containing source codes to game consoles, games, and internal documentation.[38] Starting in 2018, the contents of this breach slowly made their way onto the Internet, starting with iQue Player ROMs and variousPokémon games.[39] Later in 2020, the leaks gained more attention and grew in size, culminating into the release of Wii and Nintendo 64 source code, and the so-called "Gigaleak", a massive release containing multiple N64 games' source code and SNES Prototypes.[40]
On August 7, 2020, 20 GB ofIntellectual property ofIntel, including source code (inSystemVerilog and otherwise) of theirsystem on chips leaked (with preservinggit structure). That includedIntel ME,Intel Microcode and software simulators of their hardware. Their various BIOS source code was also leaked. TheSpaceX cameras firmware that Intel worked on also leaked. The data is being distributed through a torrent.[41]
On September 23, 2020,Windows XP SP1 andWindows Server 2003 (notorious) complete source code depots were leaked. The archives included all the source code from the time it was used atMicrosoft (notorious) , including documentation and build tools. The leak was first dismissed as illegitimate, but it was soon clear that it was legitimate, the source code contained Windows XP specific code and resources, later one user managed to compile the OS and pack it into anISO image.[42]
On January 4, 2021,NissanNorth America source code was leaked online due to misconfiguration of a companyGit server, which was left exposed online with a default username and password of admin/admin. Software engineermaia arson crimew learned of the leak and analyzed the data, which they shared withZDNet. The repository reportedly containedNissanNA mobile apps, parts of the Nissan ASIST diagnostics tool, Nissan's internal core mobile library, Dealer Business Systems and Dealer Portal, client acquisition and retention tools, market research tools and data, vehicle logistics portal, vehicle connected services, and various other back ends and internal tools, they reported.[43]
On February 10, 2021,Cyberpunk 2077 andWitcher 3 developerCD Projekt Red (CDPR) announced hackers had targeted the company and attempted to hold it to ransom. On 6 June 2021, someone in possession of the data had leaked all ofCyberpunk 2077 code (96.02 GB of data in 7z archive) online publicly, while previously it was only[44] available in encrypted form.[45][46][47]
On October 6, 2021, streaming siteTwitch had its source code along with earnings reports of top streamers leaked by hackers on4chan,[48] citing the streaming site's negative community and desire for competition and disruption of the online video streaming space. The breach was confirmed by Twitch on X.[49] The leak was distributed freely via atorrent file and was 135.17 GB in size. As a precaution, all the stream keys have been reset by Twitch.[50]
On February 25, 2022, ransomware group LAPSUS$ hackedNVIDIA and reportedly obtained 1 TB[51] of proprietary information. The group subsequently released a ~20 GB archive containing the source code for NVIDIA GPU drivers among other things.[52] Details for aNintendo Switch successor (Switch 2) were also found among the data.[53] It was also reported recently that the group also infiltrated Portuguese media conglomerate Impresa, the Ministry of Health in Brazil and Brazilian telecommunications company Claro.[54]
On September 18, 2022,Grand Theft Auto VI had a massive leak online, with 90 videos of the game being released.[55][56] It was confirmed by a worker at Rockstar Games that the leak was real. The content of the leak received mixed reviews, with many calling the game unfinished and rushed, but many criticized these complaints by stating the game was not near completion. The leak itself, however, received negative reception, with many claiming it discredited the work of several employees. Publisher TakeTwo began taking down leaks on several different websites. Rockstar issued a statement on September 19, which stated they were "disappointed" with the leak.
The hacker who got the leak also got the source code forGrand Theft Auto V, and announced he would be selling both. Shortly after, he announced theGTA VI source code was no longer for sale, but was still selling theGTA V source code. This has been considered a form of blackmail. Not long afterwards, the hacker was arrested by theCity of London Police on 22 September as part of an investigation supported by theNational Cyber Crime Unit and American federal law enforcement, with his devices seized.[57][58][59]
On January 25, 2023, a leaked archive with approximately 44 GB ofYandex services was published as a torrent.[60][61]
Sometimes software developers themselves will intentionally leak their source code in an effort to prevent a software product from becomingabandonware after it has reached itsend-of-life, allowing the community to continue development and support. Reasons for leaking (as opposed to a proper release topublic domain or asopen-source) can include scattered or lostintellectual property rights. An example is thevideo gameFalcon 4.0[62][63] which became available in 2000; another one isDark Reign 2.[64][65]
In late 1998, a number of confidentialMicrosoft documents later dubbed theHalloween documents were leaked toEric S. Raymond, an activist in theopen-source software movement, who published and commented on them online. The documents revealed that internally Microsoft viewed free and open-source software such asLinux as technologically competitive and a major threat for Microsoft's dominance in the market, and they discussed strategies to combat them. The discovery caused a public controversy. The documents were also used as evidence in several court cases.
Nintendo's crossover fighting video game seriesSuper Smash Bros. has a history of having unconfirmed content leaked. Every game since, including 2008'sSuper Smash Bros. Brawl has been affected by leaks in some form:
Super Smash Bros. Brawl for theWii was leaked by a video on theJapanese language wii.com website, revealing unconfirmed playable characters on January 28, 2008 (three days before the game's Japanese release).
Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS and Wii U was afflicted in August 2014 by the "ESRB leak", where many screenshots and limited video footage of the 3DS version were leaked by a supposed member of theESRB. The leak gained traction very quickly due to the screenshots mostly containing elements that the game ratings board would be interested in, such as trophies of suggestively-dressed female characters (some of which were later found to be edited or cut altogether in the final game).
Super Smash Bros. Ultimate was leaked in its entirety two weeks before its release, allowing many to play and datamine in advance. While the entire roster of characters and stages had already been officially revealed, many unrevealed collectibles, music tracks, and story elements were discovered and distributed. This prompted Nintendo to issue copyright strikes to many YouTube and Twitch channels.
Several high-profile books have been leaked on the Internet before their official release date, includingIf I Did It,Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, and an early draft of the first twelve chapters ofMidnight Sun. The leak of the latter prompted the authorStephenie Meyer to suspend work on the novel.
2010My Little Pony: Friendship Is Magic has been filled with lot of leaks for later seasons on scenes, leaked full song to the theme song, leaked early released episodes before they got aired onDiscovery Family, unfinished episodes, 2018–present there was leaks for the generation 5 asMy Little Pony: A New Generation was the start.
On January 31, 2014, the original uncensored version of theSouth Park episode "201" was leaked, when it was illegally pulled from the South Park Studios servers and was posted online in its entirety without any approval byComedy Central. The episode was heavily censored by the network when it aired in 2010 against the will of series creatorsTrey Parker andMatt Stone, and was never formally released uncensored to the public. The episode was the second in atwo parter and was censored after the airing of thefirst part as a result ofdeath threats fromIslamic extremists who were angry of the episode's storyline satirizing censorship ofdepictions of Muhammad.[67]
On March 13, 2016, the full list of qualifying teams and first round match-ups for the2016 NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament leaked on Twitter in the midst of a television special being broadcast byCBS to officially unveil them. The leak exacerbated criticism of a new, two-hour format for the selection broadcast, which was criticized for revealing the full tournament bracket at a slower pace than in previous years.[69][70]
On April 20, 2021,Apple supplierQuanta Computer was hit by a ransomware attack. The attackers began posting documents and schematics ofMacBook computer designs as recent as March 2021. The attackers threatened to release everything they had obtained by May 1, 2021, unless a ransom had been paid, however nothing further came out of the breach.[71]
On March 6, 2023, the unreleased filmScooby-Doo! and Krypto, Too!, a crossover involvingScooby-Doo andKrypto the Superdog was allegedly canceled,[72] and was leaked online.[73] It wasalleged to be cancelled astax write-off for parent companyWarner Bros. Discovery's cost savings effort.[72] On July 26, 2023, it was confirmed to not be cancelled,[74] and a trailer was released on July 27, 2023 with a release date of September 26, 2023.[75]
On January 3, 2024, a Twitter user leaked the screenshots of 3 new minions and the plot forDespicable Me 4 weeks before the trailer launched and was claimed that it would appear atSuper Bowl LVIII but screenshots were taken down by Universal and Illumination.[77][78] Only two descriptions of the plot leak was confirmed true, while the third was false for Edith, Agnes and Margo were going to beteenagers. The trailer was released on January 28, 2024.
On September 18, 2024, an image of aNintendo Switch 2 factory unit was posted online onto a Chinese website alongside a few CAD mockups of the console.[79] When the Nintendo Switch 2 was revealed on January 16, 2025, the factory unit ended up being confirmed as true.
^The heavenly jukebox onThe Atlantic"To show industries how to use the codec, MPEG cobbled together a free sample program that converted music into MP3 files. The demonstration software created poor-quality sound, and Fraunhofer did not intend that it be used. The software's "source code"—its underlying instructions—was stored on an easily accessible computer at the University of Erlangen, from which it was downloaded by one SoloH, a hacker in the Netherlands (and, one assumes, a Star Wars fan). SoloH revamped the source code to produce software that converted compact-disc tracks into music files of acceptable quality." (2000)
^Humphries, Matthew (May 25, 2011)."Eve Online source code posted online, DMCA takedown quickly follows". geek.com. Archived fromthe original on November 18, 2015. RetrievedNovember 7, 2015.It looks as though someone has posted the source code for the space MMO Eve Online there. As you'd imagine, developerCCP isn't too happy about this and was quick to issue the takedown request.
^Bertolone, Giorgio (March 12, 2011)."Interview with Kevin Klemmick - Lead Software Engineer for Falcon 4.0". Cleared-To-Engage. Archived from the original on March 18, 2011. RetrievedAugust 31, 2014.[C2E] In 2000 the source code of Falcon 4.0 leaked out and after that groups of volunteers were able to make fixes and enhancements that assured the longevity of this sim. Do you see the source code leak as a good or bad event? [Klemmick] "Absolutely a good event. In fact I wish I'd known who did it so I could thank them. I honestly think this should be standard procedure for companies that decide not to continue to support a code base."
^Timothy (August 7, 2012)."Dark Reign 2 Goes Open Source".slashdot.org. RetrievedAugust 13, 2013.One of Activision's last RTS games, Dark Reign 2, has gone open source under the LGPL.
