Hackers Attack Gaming Industry, Sell Player Accounts on Darkweb

Generating a tremendous revenue of $120.1 billion in 2019, the gaming industry is one of the largest and fastest-growing sectors. But this success comes at a high cost as it attracts hackers as a potential target. However, cyber-attacks in the video game industry are hard to trace, making the sector vulnerable to cybercriminals in recent times.

About the attacks
As per recent research, there exist covert markets that trade stolen gaming accounts. These trades can generate an unbelievable amount of $1 billion annually with this business. The Fortnite and Minecraft together amount to 70% of what these underground markets make. According to reports, Roblox, Runescape, Fortnite, and Minecraft are responsible for generating $700 annually. Experts at Night Lion security say that hackers selling stolen Fortnite player accounts are making up to $1 million annually.

Recent developments 
Hackers are now operating as a hierarchical organization, appointing designations for different work. The structured enterprise has positions like developers, senior managers, project managers, sales, and public relations to sensationalize their services.

• The actors are using open cloud services and digital platforms to conduct their business. 
• The hackers steal in-game inventories like skins, crates, and coupons from player accounts and sell them on the black market for a lower price. 
• These hackers often target top gaming accounts and steal player profiles to trade them for lower prices in the underground market. 

Recent attacks 

• Last month, experts found a game named "Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout," which contained malicious javascript API. It stole data from target players' discord and browser. 
• In June 2020, around 1.3 million Stalker Online players' accounts were stolen and sold on the dark web later. 
• In July 2020, a Nintendo leak revealed the game's details before they were officially launched in the market. 

The gaming industry now faces a bigger challenge to protect its community from the rising attacks. A proactive and multi-layered approach can help gamming companies protect their customers, along with products and services. However, gamers should be careful, too, avoiding re-use of the same password on other platforms.

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