The Use of Cybersecurity in the Gaming Industry

Did you know that one-third of the world’s population is an active gamer? According to the latest statistics, the number of gamers is around 3.10 billion in 2022 as against 2.95 billion last year. The number tells that it is the highest number of gamers there have ever been. The online gaming industry has grown significantly in recent years and is expected to reach around $200 billion in revenue by 2022.

Alt text: The Use of Cybersecurity in the Gaming Industry

Companies are investing a lot of amount in cybersecurity experts for saving their products from scammers or hackers. It is definitely leading to a great demand for cybersecurity professionals in the market. This Cyber security program will assist you in mastering various cybersecurity skills and techniques to protect yourself in this internet age.

What is Cybersecurity?

Cybersecurity is the protection of networks, devices, and data from unauthorised or criminal activity, as well as the protection of data privacy, integrity, and accessibility. To maintain customer trust and comply with legal requirements, organisations must protect data. 

The use of cybersecurity measures and tools is to protect sensitive information from unauthorized access and prevent unwanted online activity from disrupting your business.

Problems that can be solved with cybersecurity measures include:

• Cyber attack- Computer networks, Computer information systems, infrastructures, or personal computer devices are all targeted as in the case of a cyber-attack.

• Data breach- Impact of confidential information on the business, customers, and suppliers.
• Identity theft- Compromise of customer data leading to the theft of login ids, passwords, and other sensitive personally identifiable information.

Need for Cybersecurity in the Gaming Industry

Today, the younger generation is into playing online games. On the internet, there are many online games available and so as the number of gamers who play online games is vast. These gamers dedicate their time to playing and enjoying a game by creating and maintaining their profile online. It sometimes becomes a very good scope for hackers to target gamers. They take access to the credentials and personal data and steal them for their own benefit. So the need for cybersecurity arises and it becomes one of the essential parts to look after for any company while developing a game otherwise once users realize that the game leaves them in the hand of hackers, the company’s reputation and trust will go into vain. So companies should have to provide their users with a secure platform.

Below are some of the plans and techniques on how the use of cybersecurity can help you:

• Players should use strong passwords to protect their privacy. One-time passwords and multi-factor authentication help prevent account takeover attacks and online identity theft.
• Game developers should implement tools such as security alerts and troubleshooting solutions to help security personnel identify and rectify all threats.
• Organizations can implement integrated bot management tools and web application firewalls to prevent attacks.
• Game developers should have a disaster recovery plan to manage the account recovery process and prevent fraud. 
• Gamers or users should be aware of cyber-attacking threats. They should be cautious of clicking on any links or downloading any type of attachments from unknown addresses.

Cybersecurity Threats in the Gaming Industry

As more as the gaming industry is getting increasing and evolving, the more cyber-attacks are getting increased. According to a news report, Cyber-attacks have increased by more than 167% in the last year in the gaming sector. Cyber attackers interrupt gaming services and steal all the gaming credentials and moreover collect the user’s personal data. 

So, there are some factors that are leading cybersecurity as a threat in the Gaming Industry, which are mentioned below:

• Data Theft and Malware- When you get a cheap or free version of one of your favorite games, you can sometimes download viruses and malware from these third-party files. This also applies when you access cheat codes or purchase items from third-party sellers. Cybercriminals collect personal information to create profiles of their potential victims. One of the possible dangers of playing with strangers online is the chat feature, which allows you to chat with other players. Attackers can use the chat feature to collect sensitive information like your name, phone number, or anything important.

• Credential Stuffing- Credential stuffing is the process of automatically entering a stolen username and password into website login forms to copy user accounts. Using these stolen credentials, hackers can gain access to other people’s game accounts, or, for example, sometimes the “username and password” of game accounts is the same as a Gmail account. By taking advantage of this, hackers take credentials from platforms like email, many of which have shared passwords or long-term passwords, and use them to gain access to sensitive information.

• Spyware- Spyware is malicious software installed on the device without the permission of a user. Spyware can be difficult to detect. For anyone with a computer, the first sign that a user has a spy tool is a slow system speed or network connection. For smartphones, these are data usage and battery life. Spyware monitors all your movements on the Internet without your knowledge. Once stored, this information may be sold to third parties, violating your privacy. Gamers may unknowingly become victims of a spying conspiracy, especially when dealing with untrustworthy online games.

• Account Takeover- In an account takeover attack, an attacker gains unauthorized access to a user’s online account credentials. This connection can be used not only for identity theft and fraud but also for other cyber attacks,  such as user access to a user’s credentials to log in and place ransomware in the device. Account theft attacks have become more and more common and expensive problems as the online gaming industry is growing. After gaining control of your account, attackers can engage in a variety of illegal purposes for their own interests. Behaving as a real user,  attackers change all account information, withdraw funds, receive special loyalty benefits, make online purchases, or steal account information for accessing other accounts on another website.

Conclusion

This gaming industry is witnessing significant growth, mainly because of the pandemic as everyone was forced to be at home at that time. Popular games are reporting revenues in the range of hundreds of millions of dollars per month. Gaming companies need to look after all the threats of cybersecurity for their business and they have the responsibility to protect customer privacy so that it does not mislead the gaming community. Moreover, users also need to be aware of the nature of cybersecurity threats to avoid being targeted for any unethical activities.