During first half of 2022, her researchersKaspersky noticed that the Gamers have been the target of increased cybercriminal activity
Ο number of users attacked by malware, which collects sensitive data and spreads pretending to be one of the most popular online games; has increased by 13% compared to the first half of 2021.
In trying to install newly released video games for free from untrusted sources, gamers were actually downloading malware, losing their accounts and even their payment information. These are some of the findings of her new report Kaspersky about threats related to electronic games.
Kaspersky experts studied the most popular threats related to PC and mobile games in order to assess the current threat landscape in the gaming industry.
In total, between July 1, 2021 and June 30, 2022, Kaspersky security solutions noticed that more than 384.000 users were influenced by almost 92.000 malicious or unwanted unique files that emulated 28 games or game series. In addition to the large number of downloaders that can install other unwanted programs and adware, Kaspersky researchers even identified Trojan-Spies – a class of spyware that can monitor any data entered on the keyboard and take screenshots.
The research also revealed an increase in attacks using malware that steals sensitive data from infected devices. The survey included the Trojan-PSW, which collects victims' credentials, the Trojan banker, which steals payment data and the Trojan-GameThief, which collects login information for game accounts. From July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, Kaspersky security solutions detected a total of 3.705 unique records that distribute this malware under the guise of popular games or game series.
The first half of 2022, Kaspersky researchers observed increase 13% in the number of users attacked with it compared to the first half of 2021. The number of such unique files used to infect users also increased in the first half of 2022 by almost a quarter, compared to the same period in 2021 : 1.868 and 1.530 files, respectively.
With regard to Greece, from July 1, 2021 until 30 June 2022 855 unique files were found that attempted to emulate popular games such as Minecraft (with 196 unique users having fallen victim), the FIFA (118 users) and the Call of Duty (63 users).
Fortunately, contrary to the general trend, in the first half of 2022 the number of users attacked through gaming threats decreased 40%. Basically, the type of files exploited to deceive Greek users is downloader, representing almost two thirds of all threats (69%), while the number of Trojan files is also important, which make up almost the 9% of overall threats.
Most of the times, users get malicious files when they try to download games not from official websites but from third-party websites. This is basically done when a new game is quite expensive and the player wants to save money by finding a copy for free on unreliable websites. However, it is a fact that they will lose much more than if they had bought a legal version. For example, many malicious files steal login information for game accounts, bank details, and even crypto wallet data by infecting devices.
Attackers deliberately seek to spread threats under the guise of games that either have a huge following of dedicated gamers or are recently released and gamers are interested in trying them out. Well-known games like Roblox, FIFA or Minecraft, for example, as well as the new versions of major game series released in the past year – Elden Ring, Halo and Resident Evil – were exploited by cybercriminals to spread malware Redline.
The Redline is password stealing software, which extracts sensitive data from the victim's device, such as passwords, stored bank card details, crypto wallets and credentials for services VPN. From July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022, Kaspersky solutions identified 2.362 unique users who were attacked with the Redline, which was spread under the guise of popular video games, which makes Readline the most active threat group for this period. The Redline it is usually sold at a very low price on various hacker forums, therefore, it is extremely popular among cybercriminals.
In addition to spreading malicious files, attackers continue to actively create and spread new phishing pages in the gaming space. For the first time, Kaspersky experts discovered a new scheme of phishers attacking gamers. Mimicking the entire interface of in-game stores for CS:GO, PUBG and Warface, scammers create fake pages, offering potential victims a decent arsenal of various weapons and items for free.
To receive the gift, players must enter login data for their social network accounts such as Facebook or Twitter. After gaining access to the accounts, attackers are likely to search through private messages for card details or request money from various friends of the victim, taking advantage of their trust and carelessness.
Scammers create fake in-game store by mimicking PUBG's mobile interface. The system encourages users to log in using their social media credentials
For example, strikes in e-sports, which are now gaining huge popularity around the world. That's why it's so important to always be protected so you don't lose your money, credentials, and game account , Anton V. Ivanov , senior security researcher at Kaspersky, comments on Securelist.
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