RIP CAPCOM Store; Ransomware Update (Blame the American IT Department)

By LUDWIG VON KOOPA - Double dose of CAPCOM...failure.

Two updates to earlier CAPCOM stories for ya, coming on the same day.

Remember when CAPCOM got pwned by that ransomware attack? According to a press release from today, the cause was that a relatively old and insecure Virtual Private Network (VPN) device in the California office was targeted and used to access CAPCOM's global files. CAPCOM's Information Technology (IT) Department had already been deprecating those old devices for new ones, but due to the Chinese Communist Party Virus (the one that makes people sick, not one that corrupts computers), they couldn't fully replace all of the supply so they kept the old insecure device around for a back-up. CAPCOM's other network security measures were being reviewed by IT but not implemented across the organisation... again, due to the CCP Virus messing up priorities. (IT probably was busy making sure every employee could work remotely with minimal business operation disruption, which can be a herculean task depending on their starting point, and could easily and understandably derail security implementation efforts.)

Through third-party consulting companies, CAPCOM is obviously now taking information security far more seriously and prioritising it after the fact to try to rebound from an international and public embarrassment, installing several measures to make sure this sort of thing doesn't happen again.

Smart companies will take their information technology seriously with real investment. In my article on working conditions to avoid when looking for a job, I mentioned if a company won't invest in dual monitors for employees, that's bad. What I didn't mention? If they're using unsupported/very old hardware/software. Like, if anyone is still using Windows XP—and many healthcare companies do so—that's a bad sign and it's a major security risk, as well as a poor employee experience. The bare minimum your IT department should be doing is actively replacing the old, vulnerable stuff and removing them from circulation.

While CAPCOM will be beginning new security measures, they will be ending their CAPCOM Store that was opened two years ago. A notice on the store states,

“An important update from the Capcom Store team: The Capcom Store (store.capcom.com) is closing, and the last day to place an order is 5/1/21. Supplies are limited, so place your order soon. On behalf of everyone at Capcom, we want to give a huge thank you to everyone who has supported the store!”

If you click that AVAILABLE NOW button (on the actual store, not the KoopaTV screenshot), you get a 404 error. Not a good sign.
(By the way, only the AVAILABLE NOW button is clickable.
Modern user interface design calls for the entire banner to be clickable.)

Under three weeks is a pretty short notice. Things are selling out fast. In the past few hours, a $2 “CAPCOM X B-SIDE LABEL” Maya Fey sticker has gone completely sold out. As of publishing, there is no merchandise remaining. It seems like there are no longer any games available except Resident Evil 2 and Resident Evil 3. Even all the Monster Hunter stuff is relegated to the “WAITING LIST”...which will likely never materialise.

There are also Membership Rewards that are apparently still available, but I never thought they were worth it. Maybe if I was into Monster Hunter...

This isn't CAPCOM's first attempt at a store. I don't know if it'll be their last. Maybe they should try to learn from The Pokémon Company International if they want to open up another store. The Pokémon Center is great! Tons of plushies! ...And other items that I've bought. Sure, the CAPCOM Store had plushies, but... very...few. More plushies → more success.

They could also learn from the European CAPCOM Store, which has more plushies, more shirts, and more merchandise.

And if they just wanted to focus on Monster Hunter stuff they should've been upfront about it.


You should comment about the CAPCOM Store OR the ransomware stuff... or BOTH! In the comments section.