Gamers are cybercriminals’ victim of choice, research claims

mood · Sep 24, 2020

Gamers are cybercriminals’ victim of choice, research claims
A report on cyberattacks suggests video game platforms and players are the most regularly targeted by hackers
September 23, 2020
https://techerati.com/news-hub/gamers-are-cybercriminals-victim-of-choice-research-claims-2020/

The gaming industry is under near-constant attack from cybercriminals, with gamers also regularly targeted, research suggests.

Research from cybersecurity and content delivery firm Akamai said there had been ten billion attacks on the games sector between July 2018 and June 2020.
The attacks use a method known as credential stuffing, the report said, as criminals attempt to gain access to games and gaming services by using lists of username and password combinations stolen in other cyberattacks and available to buy from sources online.
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Akamai’s study said that between July 2019 and June 2020, of more than 5,600 unique distributed denial of service (DDoS) cyber attacks it witnessed, over 3,000 were aimed at the gaming industry.

“Criminals are launching relentless waves of attacks against games and players alike in order to compromise accounts, steal and profit from personal information and in-game assets, and gain competitive advantages.

Despite the concerns raised in the report, a survey of gamers by Akamai and gaming lifestyle festival DreamHack found that only 20% were worried or very worried about being hacked.
This was despite more than half (55%) of those who identified as frequent players confirming they had been the victim of a cyberattack at some point.
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Press Release: Akamai Report Reveals Broad, Persistent Cyber Attacks Targeting Video Game Players And Companies
Akamai blog post (Security Report)
Code:
Full Report:
https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/soti-security-gaming-you-cant-solo-security-report-2020.pdf

Executive Summary:
https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/soti-security-gaming-you-cant-solo-executive-summary-2020.pdf

Infographic:
https://www.akamai.com/us/en/multimedia/documents/state-of-the-internet/soti-security-gaming-you-cant-solo-security-infographic-2020.pdf

mood · Jun 23, 2021

Games, Gaming and Gamers Are a Rapidly Growing Target for Hackers
June 23, 2021
https://www.securityweek.com/games-...apidly-growing-target-hackers?utm_medium=feed

Attacks against the video gaming industry and its gamers skyrocketed during the pandemic lockdown year of 2020, with more than 240 million web app attacks (a growth of 340% over the previous year). While the pandemic conditions likely contributed to this growth, researchers believe that attacks will continue, and continue to grow, even after the pandemic is over.

“Game accounts actually sell well,” Steve Ragan, author of the report (PDF) and security researcher at Akamai, told SecurityWeek. “Let’s say you wanted to buy access to a specific type of shooter game. There are criminals that will sell you usernames and passwords to that game so you can walk in and play.”
“The gaming industry does want to defend its players, but security is a balancing act,” said Ragan. “Gaming companies spend a lot of time and effort researching their security posture as well as their players’ needs, and they try to find a balance between the two of them… the thing is, you can’t force somebody to do something”.
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Akamai: Video Game Industry Faced Highest Growth In Cyberattacks During Pandemic

Akamai Security Research reveals “relentless” web application and credential stuffing attacks targeting gamers and gaming companies throughout 2020
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mood · Aug 4, 2022

Gaming Sector Cyber-Attacks Up 167% in Last 12 Months
August 4, 2022

Cyber-attacks in the gaming sector have increased by 167% in the last year, according to a new report by cybersecurity firm Akamai.

Titled Gaming Respawned, the research also found that the United States is the main target of attackers, followed by Switzerland, India, Japan, the United Kingdom and other nations throughout Europe and Asia.
Additionally, the Akamai report claimed gaming is the industry hit by the most distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks globally, accounting for 35% of all DDoS traffic worldwide.
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Additionally, the Akamai report claimed gaming is the industry hit by the most distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks globally, accounting for 35% of all DDoS traffic worldwide.

“As gaming activity has increased and evolved, so has the value of disrupting it through cyber-attacks,” explained Jonathan Singer, Akamai's senior strategist, media and entertainment industries.
“Cyber-criminals typically disrupt live services and co-opt credentials to steal gaming assets. Also, with the industry’s expansion into cloud gaming, new threat surfaces have opened up for attackers by bringing in new players who are prime targets for bad actors.”
More generally, Akamai said they have observed some key trends since their last report on threats in the gaming industry.
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Further, while the growth of cloud gaming seems to keep growing, so does the game industry’s overall attack surface.

“Plus, the growth of other lucrative aspects of the gaming industry will continue to attract bad actors,” read the report.
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Gamers are cybercriminals’ victim of choice, research claims

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team

mood Updates Team