Data thieves claim they stole 1.4 TB from Nike and • The Register

https://www.theregister.com/2026/01/26/data_thieves_claim_nike_data_haul/

Publish Date: 2026-01-26 07:24:00

Nike says it is probing a possible breach after extortion crew WorldLeaks claimed to have lifted 1.4TB of internal data from the sportswear giant and posted samples on its leak site.

In a listing seen by The Register, WorldLeaks alleges it has stolen 188,347 files from Nike’s systems. The group has published the data with filenames pointing toward design and manufacturing workflows, rather than customer databases.

Examples include directories labeled “Women’s Sportswear,” “Men’s Sportswear,” “Training Resource – Factory,” and “Garment Making Process,” suggesting the alleged haul centers on product development and production processes.

Nike confirmed it’s looking into the matter but stopped short of validating the criminals’ claims. “We always take consumer privacy and data security very seriously,” a spokesperson told The Register. “We are investigating a potential cybersecurity incident and are actively assessing the situation.”

When asked, the company declined to say what data was stolen and whether it planned to pay a ransom demand.

There’s nothing so far to suggest customer or employee records were involved, which keeps regulators at arm’s length for now. That said, design files, factory training notes, and process documentation are the sort of internal plumbing companies don’t expect to lose control of, even if they don’t trigger formal breach notices. It doesn’t take much imagination to see how copycats or grey-market factories might make use of it.

Crews like WorldLeaks aren’t bothering with ransomware theatrics anymore and are going straight for whatever files they can grab. The crew is said to be a rebrand of Hunters International, a ransomware gang that’s been around since 2023. These days they don’t bother encrypting anything; they just take the data and start leaning on victims with the threat of…

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