🔐 RAPPELZ SECURITY BREACH – GALA LAB CERTIFICATE LEAK (JULY 2024)
Official investigation and clarification regarding the misuse of Gala Lab’s digital certificate. No personal data was leaked – here are the facts, the timeline, and why Rappelz and Flyff remain safe to play.
| Date | Event / Development | Details & Official Explanation | Status / Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 (undisclosed date) | Origin Source code theft (Korean version) | The source code and resource files of the Korean versions of Flyff Online PC and Rappelz Online PC were stolen by a thief specifically targeting these games. Among the leaked development files was a private key certificate file used to publish updates. “The source code and resource files of the Korean version of ‘Flyff Online PC’ and ‘Rappelz Online PC’ have been compromised in 2020 by a thief specifically targeting these games.” |
Initial breach (development files) |
| July 19, 2024 | Public report Google engineers publish article | Google identified that a virus was digitally signed using a certificate owned by Gala Lab (valid from November 2020 to January 2023). The certificate’s private key had been stolen and shared on hacking forums. This triggered public concern about a potential data breach. “One of the viruses has been found to be digitally signed by Gala Lab using a certificate for Windows executables which was valid from November 2020 to January 2023.” |
⚠️ Media attention |
| July 24, 2024 | Official statement Gala Lab clarifies the incident | Key clarifications: – No personal data was leaked. The incident involved source code and a code-signing certificate, not user databases. – The certificate leaked in 2020 and has been revoked; additional security measures were implemented. – Flyff Universe and Flyff Legacy were completely unaffected. – Current Windows executables from Gala Lab can be trusted. “Not a single information related to personal data has been leaked. … Flyff Universe and Flyff Legacy were not part of this issue and completely unaffected.” |
Clarified – no user impact |
| July 2024 onward | Current status Games are safe, no further actions needed | Gala Lab confirmed that the compromised certificate is no longer in use. The company invested in additional security measures after the 2020 incident. Players can continue playing Rappelz and Flyff without risk related to this certificate leak. “After the issue that happened in 2020 the company immediately invested in additional security measures to prevent it from happening again. … Currently, Windows executable published by Gala Lab can be trusted.” |
✅ Active and secure |
📌 WHAT ACTUALLY HAPPENED – FACT CHECK
✅ What was NOT leaked
- No personal information (passwords, emails, names)
- No payment data or account credentials
- No user databases
- Flyff Universe / Legacy unaffected
⚠️ What WAS compromised
- Source code & development files (Korean PC versions)
- A code-signing certificate (valid 2020–2023)
- The certificate was reused by malware developers
🔒 Current security status
- Certificate revoked & replaced
- Additional security measures in place since 2020
- Games are safe to play and update
- No further user action required
📢 OFFICIAL SUMMARY – GALA LAB (JULY 24, 2024)
“Gala Lab has not been targeted by a famous hacking group, they reused a file shared by a thief related to PC games. The certificate file leaked several years ago, and the company took additional measures, so it does not happen again. Not a single information related to personal data has been leaked. PC Flyff and PC Rappelz are now not affected by this issue.”
— Official response to the security incident. Full transparency on the certificate leak.
🔍 Why did the story spread? Google’s security report highlighted a malware sample signed with Gala Lab’s certificate. Hackers obtained the private key from the 2020 source code leak and reused it to make malware appear legitimate. Gala Lab confirmed the certificate had already been deactivated and that no active game executables were affected.