"Gaming Industry Experiences 340% Spike in Web App Attacks"

According to a new report by Akamai, researchers found that web application attacks targeting the video game industry grew by a higher rate than any other sector during the COVID-19 pandemic. Web application attacks surged by 340% in 2020 compared to 2019, totaling more than 240 million attempts against the video game industry. The most prominent web application attack vector was SQL injection, making up 59% of all attacks against the gaming sector. This method targets the login credentials and personal information of players. SQL injection was followed by local file inclusion, which comprised 24% of all attacks. This method focuses on sensitive details within apps and services that can further compromise game servers and accounts. Other prominent vectors in this category were cross-site scripting and remote file inclusion, accounting for 8% and 7% of attacks detected by the researchers. The video game industry also experienced a 224% increase in credential stuffing attacks in 2020 compared to 2019, a total of nearly 11 billion. The researchers stated that credential stuffing became so common that bulk lists of stolen usernames and passwords were available for as little as $5 on illicit websites. Surprisingly, there was a 20% reduction in DDoS attacks targeting the gaming industry.

Infosecurity reports: "Gaming Industry Experiences 340% Spike in Web App Attacks"