According to Kaspersky’s new research, the number of people playing PC games is skyrocketing, and cybercriminals are increasingly trying to target PC games with online attacks.
In March 2020, the number of both active and concurrent users playing games on Steam reached a record high. However, this record was broken again in March of this year, when the PC gaming platform reached nearly 27 million users.
Like other online trends, cybercriminals are closely tracking this growing interest in games as they seek ways to exploit this trend for personal gain. Web antivirus detection for sites containing the names of popular games and platforms increased significantly last year, and Kaspersky researchers said one of the redirects blocked during April 2020 compared to June 2020. We observed a 54% increase in the number per day.
Even after the pandemic blockade ended in the spring, the number of game-themed web attacks continued to grow, reaching an all-time high of 2.5 meters in November last year. Although slightly reduced earlier this year, the number of these attacks increased again, reaching 1.1 million in April 2021 and an increase of 34% compared to March.
Game-themed lure
Similar to last year’s Kaspersky survey, Minecraft continues to be the most popular game used by cybercriminals as a lure. However, this year’s Counter Strike: Global Offensive is gaining popularity in Minecraft as the most popular game used as bait.
The most common threats encountered by accessing malicious links that abuse the names of popular games and platforms are free versions, updates, extensions, and even Trojan horses and malware disguised as cheat programs. .. By accidentally downloading these malicious files, cybercriminals can do anything from delete or block data to disrupting the performance of gaming laptops and desktops.
Maria Namestnikova, head of Russia’s global research and Kaspersky analytics team, said in a press release why hackers and cybercriminals are increasingly targeting gamers and gaming companies, as in the case of recent EA data breaches. explained.
“Currently, there are an unprecedented number of gamers (nearly 3 billion) in the world. This has proven to be a great way to relax from the ongoing turmoil. Of course, it’s a cyberattack. This puts corporate resources at risk, given that more and more people are playing games on their work devices, which means that people will continue to be interested in the industry, but gamers are safe. You can enjoy playing. You have to follow basic cyber security best practices. ”
Kaspersky allows gamers to create strong passwords using password managers, protect their accounts with two-factor authentication, refrain from downloading cheats and pirated games, use antivirus software on game rigs, and play games only from the official store. We recommend that you purchase and do not click on the following links. External sites in chat are keeping an eye out for phishing campaigns to keep them safe from these and other attacks during the game.
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