Hackers often target financial, medical, and government institutions. This is why data breaches are most likely to occur in companies that operate in one of these industries. With that being the case, companies and firms in these fields are beginning to ramp up their defenses, making them nearly impenetrable by hackers. So where are hackers headed to next?
Experts believe that one sector that could become the hotspot of data breaches is the video game industry. It’s not just because video games are profitable; it’s also because the industry itself is fairly vulnerable to attacks. With regard to that, here are a few reasons why there are many security holes hackers can take advantage of.
Gaming Companies Use Weak Authentication
Companies in the gaming industry do their best to protect their games from piracy. Unfortunately, the same can’t be said with regard to handling user accounts. Gaming companies use low-friction authentication so as to avoid pushing away their audience. Gamers want to head into their titles as quickly as possible, so log-ins are often only protected by a single password. This leaves privacy and security matters solely in the hands of the gamers themselves.
Gamers themselves consider the hobby a financial risk, so they tend to use weaker passwords.
Gaming Companies Are Pressured
Games are becoming better and better with each new generation. However, gamers are becoming demanding as well. Developers are expected to come up with games at a faster pace without sacrificing quality and innovation. While they focus their resources and time on working on the actual game, they leave loopholes in their security measures.
Though not as costly as the data breaches of brands like Marriott and Yahoo!, there have been several cases of data breaches of gaming companies already. In 2018, over 1.1 million accounts on the emulation website EmuParadise were exposed as a result of a successful data breach. Data, including emails and personal information, was leaked.
Also in the same year, a data breach happened on the servers of Epic Games’ Fortnite, a game with millions of players worldwide which is a consistent frontrunner in sales. Again, personal details were exposed to hackers. However, it’s not just hackers doing all the criminal acts. Even the gamers themselves could easily hack into another player’s account.
Because of the data breach, a class action lawsuit was filed against Epic Games. Anyone who has connected their bank cards to the game is said to have a claim to the lawsuit against the developer. The lawsuit is still ongoing, but so far, things are looking great for Epic Games. In spite of the issue, millions of players didn’t stop logging into the game.
Here’s the bottom line:
More pressure must be put on game developers with regard to the security they implement on their games. They need to understand that their audience is at risk of cyberattacks and data breaches, and it’s their responsibility to protect them. Hopefully, the recent data breaches of the big brands will serve as a lesson for every other game developer.
AUTHOR BIO
Nick Galov, Head of Content and Community Manager at HostingTribunal. With years of experience as a frontline support and system administrator, Nick wants to improve the web hosting industry as a whole. Through impartial reviews and detailed case studies, he helps people find the most suitable hosting provider. In the rare moments he unplugs from the digital world, Nick enjoys hiking and cycling.