The video game industry is a huge commercial market that generated $120.1 billion in revenue in 2019. Cybercrimes relate to the gaming industry are often difficult to trace, which is why attackers are increasingly targeting popular online games and community platforms.
Targeting the gaming industry
According to a recent report, some underground marketplaces that deal with the trading of stolen gaming accounts are doing an estimated business of about $1 billion annually.
- Around $700 million is coming from just four games namely Fortnite, Minecraft, Roblox, and Runescape.
- According to a report published by Night Lion Security, individual hackers dealing in stolen Fortnite accounts alone make an income $1 million a year.
What gaming hackers are up to?
Cybercriminals are now working as a structured enterprise, where they are designating people with positions like developers, middle managers, project managers, salespeople, and even PR people to hype their services.
- Hackers leverage public cloud services and digital e-commerce platforms to run their business.
- They steal in-game commodities, such as player skin, in-game items, or currencies, to make a sale on underground forums.
- They pilfer top gaming accounts or perform account takeovers to sell them at lower prices. They even provide customer service and offer buyers to replace non-working gaming accounts for free, with discounts on bulk order.
Recent attacks on gaming industries
Here are some recent attacks on the gaming industry:
- In August, a malicious JavaScript library disguised as "Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout" game API was found to be stealing sensitive files from an infected user’s browser and Discord application.
- In July, a massive Nintendo leak revealed early Mario, Zelda, and Pokémon game’s secrets.
- In June, over 1.3 million user records belonging to Stalker Online players were put for sale on dark web forums.
Here’s a tip
Experts indicate that the gaming industry must face this challenge with a proactive and multilayered approach to protect their customers and their own products and services. Gamers are recommended to never reuse their passwords to avoid misuse of their accounts.
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