The rise of the gaming data breach

Are we in the midst of a rise in gaming data breach incidents? As more and more games are now full of consumables, we know hackers are targeting the gaming industry.

We recently wrote about the Fortnite hackers who have been reportedly making a mint off the back of stealing other people’s accounts and selling them on. Teenagers are being recruited to get involved in mass hacking jobs that appear relatively easy to carry out.

When you consider that the gaming industry is now an even more lucrative market as a result of consumables like loot boxes and other in-game purchases, digital property can be an attractive and profitable target.

Hackers target gaming data breaches

It’s likely that hackers are targeting gaming data breaches. With the huge volumes of digital property that could be gleaned from stealing accounts, it can be a lucrative business. What you have to consider is the fact that there are millions of people playing online games. A lot of them are youngsters who can be easily tempted to get involved in hacking to make extra cash.

Or in some cases, as we recently reported, they can make thousands from hacking.

With the rise in consumables and online subscriptions, online gaming data breaches can yield a lot of information for hackers. Personal information and payment card data can be at risk on top of the digital property people have built up.

There has also reportedly been rises in so-called “friendly fraud” where kids are using their parents’ cards to buy things without proper permission. The issue here is not only the risk for the cardholder but the fact that it can be easy to do. Some feel the online gaming industry is far too lax when it comes to monitoring youngsters’ activities.

Gaming data breaches and Collection #1

There’s an obvious link between the recent monumental so-called Collection #1 data breach that saw some 700 million email addresses and passwords published online. Easy targets for hackers are those who reuse credentials, and it’s fair to suspect that youngsters who aren’t as savvy as adults when it comes to online security may be easy targets.

These accounts can be valuable if they’re taken over and resold – as we discussed in the recent Fortnite article. The fact of the matter is that the industry is probably going to keep growing, and consumables are the new way for developers to make more cash. The way I see it, gaming data breach incidents are inevitable, and may well sharply rise in years to come.

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