Quote:Leading gaming companies, such as Ubisoft, have become big targets for cybercriminals that aim to turn a profit by selling leaked insider-credentials tied to the top game publishers. Over 500,000 stolen credentials tied to the top 25 gaming firms were found on caches of breached data online and up for sale at criminal marketplaces, according to researchers at Kela.
 
In a recent scan, they found 1 million compromised credentials associated with the larger gaming universe of “clients” and also employees – half of which were for sale online. More than 500,000 of the leaked credentials pertained to employees of leading game companies, according to the report published Monday.
 
The past year was a punishing one for the gaming sector, as outlined by Threatpost’s 2020 cybersecurity recap. Gamers faced foul play ranging from ID theft, scams or the hack of in-game valuables.
 
What makes Kela’s research unique is the light it shines on inroads hackers have made inside the $196 billion industry. Fueling the trend, wrote the report’s authors, Almog Zoosman and Victoria Kivilevich, is a boom within the sector spurred by COVID-19’s demand for social distancing driving interest in the solitary activity of video gaming.
 
“The growing success of this industry also calls attention to cybercriminals scouting out their new targets – and what better target could cybercriminals ask for than an industry that’s up and coming and may not be prioritizing their security precautions as much as their industry advancement and profit,” Kela reported.