Are Gaming Companies Becoming Breeding Grounds For Cyber Criminals?
By Palak Dogra -
Gaming is an ideal way through which gamers can escape the world of reality and enter a world of fantasy. Gaming lets them explore newness and enter into a reality that is totally different from the one where we stay.
However, in recent times, gaming is turning out to be dangerous as gamers become a victim of cyber-attacks.
Latest Incident
The previous week, unseen footage of the game in Grand Theft Auto VI (GTA VI) got leaked as the game publisher, Take-Two Interactive’s communication channel got hacked.
Followed by the hack, the game publisher’s stocks went down by 6% because investors speculated that the incident might lead to a delay in the development of GTA VI.
Growing Cyber Attacks
The above-mentioned incident was reported last week. Before this incident, many other cyber-attacks have also taken place, making gaming companies a breeding ground for cyber-criminals.
As gamers spend money within the games and add money to their wallets to purchase new levels, costumes, or characters, and add personal data like their card details, hackers get attracted to such firms to hack data to make money out of the same and endanger one’s privacy.
Mobile Premier League, a homegrown mobile gaming unicorn, has also reported increasing failed cyberattacks. MPL revealed that attackers pose as employees and company executives to gain access to internal systems and data.
Chief Technology Officer at BlueStacks, Suman Saraf said, “Attackers are on the constant lookout for credentials, in-game currency and assets, payment details, and personally identifiable information.”
How To Remain Safe While Gaming?
Last year in November a report was published by Norton LifeLock which reveals that three out of four gamers experience cyber attacks and approximately four out of five gamers lose at least Rs. 7,894 on average.
Thus, it becomes extremely important that we remain safe and away from risks.
Some basic ways through which gamers can protect themselves are installing a VPN, using a strong password, and reducing online data. Virtual Private Network (VPN) protects your online data, encrypts it and hides your IP address as well. However, there are certain games that don’t allow you to use VPN, hence, it is better to be aware of it.
Strong passwords that are a combination of numbers, letters, and signs must be used as it doesn’t allow hackers to gain access to personal data, and other passwords and credentials.
Lastly, gamers must be aware of all the data that they are putting online. They must ensure that only essential information must be entered and details that are irrelevant to the game must not be filled in.
Being aware and ensuring safety while gaming will help us avoid cyber attacks and will keep cybercriminals at bay.
Originally published at https://edtimes.in on October 3, 2022.