Exploiting games to penetrate users’ devices is one of the easy ways for hackers to gain access to the device or the accounts on it, which causes many problems for these users, as the attackers only need a bombed game in which the user registers his account until the attackers start implementing their plan.
How are devices hacked with games?
The most common methods of hacking are exploiting online games by introducing viruses or malicious files to gain access to the player’s personal account and destroy their game software.
Hackers take over the account by hacking private emails and passwords, as most users tend to use the same password for many sites. Normally when one account is taken over by the hacker he can gain access to any other account that has the same password, this is called in the hacking field a “take charge account”.
The link between video games and hacking
Video games are just like many other online accounts for kids and adults, there are passwords and usernames usually associated with these accounts, and hackers and scammers take advantage of the opportunity of users spending a lot of time on these platforms to target them.
Increasing penetration during Corona
Cyber security companies announced that hacking operations by games have increased significantly since the beginning of the Covid-19 epidemic, as a result of the increase in game users due to the quarantine period; This allowed a greater possibility of attack by hackers and stated that the sum of attacks and targets detected in games could lose game companies huge batches of data, and make their games temporarily offline.
Players during the period of the spread of Covid-19 lost a lot of money and sensitive personal data, which made this period difficult for players and game companies and caused major problems that had to be intervened at the time; That phase brought together two epidemics that need to be addressed: the COVID-19 epidemic and the game hacker epidemic.
The main reason for hacking devices with games
The video game industry has boomed tremendously over the years, but there are those who have used it to harm others, and the rise of online games has given hackers from all over the world an opportunity to easily manipulate and hack users, their devices, and their online accounts.
A study from the University of Maryland showed that every 39 seconds, hackers attack a user’s device because most of the time the victim has their own credit or debit card attached to the account from which they are logged into the game.
Hackers trade and sell those accounts or sell items within that account, and hackers can also convert the digital currency owned by the account holder into cash in their bank accounts.
The most important gaming companies that were vulnerable to hackers
Hackers are targeting gaming companies for ransom in exchange for releasing source code, and Electronic Arts Inc. has been hacked by hackers, as the attack included data theft, with timelines for upcoming game releases posted on dark web forums. (Dark Web), including the Resident Evil Village and Street Fighter games.
The hackers also claimed to have stolen the source code of popular games, such as the company’s “FIFA” series, and libraries of code and digital assets known as game engines used by developers.
Instead of demanding a ransom for not publishing the source code, the hackers auctioned it off on the dark web.
Hackers can sell source code or use it to launch attacks in a variety of ways by taking advantage of the game’s core functions, and hackers can build tools that allow them to pretend to be support staff and then send phishing emails to players to gain access to accounts to exploit or sell them.
How to avoid hacking through games
Users can protect their devices and accounts and play securely by following simple steps such as turning on two-factor authentication on the user’s gaming devices to avoid being hacked.
If the user attaches his credit card, the purchases made from this account should be monitored regularly.
The user should check to see if the game companies offer “Clean” for the chat functionality, which allows game companies to censor a specific language and prevent links from being posted.
An active antivirus must also be installed in order to counter any threat.
Users are required to report any strange activity to the company, especially if something looks like a scam.
For children and their toys, parents should check reviews to see if toys are age-appropriate for their children, read the safety controls, and educate children on the importance of paying attention to the privacy and security policy in toys. The most important thing is that all the security protocols are running on the devices.
More burden on game manufacturers
Game manufacturers need to patch vulnerabilities in their game code to reduce hacking to zero, and despite the increase in threats to gamers’ privacy, preemptive steps can be taken to avoid hacker scams.
In the end, games can be a reason for fun and entertainment, but we should not forget that they may be the key to our secrets and privacy, and this is what requires players to be the first line of defense in the face of gaming hacks.
