"Gaming-Related Cyberthreats in 2020 and 2021"

To measure the level of the cybersecurity risk associated with gaming, researchers at Kaspersky investigated several types of threats. The researchers examined malware and unwanted software disguised as popular PC and mobile games. The researchers used collected statistics between July 1, 2020, and June 30, 2021.  The researchers found that the total number of users who encountered gaming-related malware and unwanted software from July 1, 2020 through June 30, 2021 was 303,827, with 69,244 files distributed under the guise of twenty-four most-played PC games.  The researchers also found that the number of users affected by PC-specific gaming-related cyberthreats rose at the beginning of the pandemic but then dropped in Q1-Q2 2021 compared to Q1-Q2 2020 as the lockdowns forced more users to search for free games. Meanwhile, mobile games show a different trend. The number of users affected grew by 185% at the beginning of the pandemic and declined by just 10% by Q2 2021, meaning that mobile threats were still actively employed by cybercriminals.  The top five PC games used as bait in the attacks targeting the most significant number of users were Minecraft, The Sims 4, PUBG, Fortnite, and Grand Theft Auto V.  The top three mobile games most often used as bait were Minecraft, PUBG Mobile, and Among Us.  A total of 50,644 users attempted to download 10,488 unique files disguised as the ten most-played mobile games, generating a total of 332,570 detections from July 2020 through June 2021.  The researchers stated that the most threats uncovered on PC and mobile devices were adware, but dangerous malware was also present: from stealers to bankers, often leading to the loss of not just credentials but money, including cryptocurrency.  The researchers also stated that gaming-themed phishing schemes are highly versatile, and with more gaming events taking place, cybercriminals are expanding scenarios in which they attempt to extract user data.

SecureList reports: "Gaming-Related Cyberthreats in 2020 and 2021"