Archive notice: This article was originally published on April 24, 2008. Links and embedded videos are preserved as part of the historical record.
The battle for online gamers’ PCs is in full swing. Current analyses by G DATA Security Labs show that cybercriminals have set their sights on the gaming community. Of 1000 downloaded add-ons and cheat files for the top 20 PC games, more than 65 percent were rigged with malicious code. The proportion of malicious code on P2P file-sharing networks has thus more than doubled in the last six months. The number of gaming malware programs that steal passwords and login credentials for online games has also increased rapidly. At more than 31 percent, these already occupy first place among data spies.
One of the criminals’ favoured methods: placing malicious code on P2P file-sharing networks. In the first quarter of 2008, G DATA Security Labs examined 1000 cheats, patches, wallhacks and add-ons for the top 20 PC games each month on relevant file-sharing networks. The shocking result: more than 65 percent of the files were heavily infected with malicious code – and rising! In the third quarter of 2007, the proportion of infected files for the most popular games was only 30 percent. By the end of last year, more than half the files checked on P2P file-sharing networks were already rigged with malicious code. Online games themselves are another entry point for injecting malicious code. Many players disable the firewall for the duration of a gaming session or forgo Internet security packages on their computers altogether.
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Ralf Benzmüller, Head of G DATA Security Labs: “Online gamers have everything that makes cybercriminals’ hearts beat faster: fast computers, gaming login credentials, high-speed DSL connections and, above all, long periods online. Stolen passwords and login credentials are quickly turned into hard cash on the black market and fetch far more than credit card information. But the criminals’ goals are more far-reaching! Once a computer is infected, the criminals try to install further malicious code to bring the computer completely under their control and integrate it into botnets as a zombie. These zombie PCs are then used for various purposes, such as sending spam and DDos attacks, and are rented out worldwide by the criminals.”
In the assessment of G DATA Security Labs, it is unfortunately still made far too easy for perpetrators to install their malicious code on PCs, steal data and expand their zombie armies. The large G DATA Security survey in February 2008 found that almost one in two users surfs the Internet with an unprotected computer. G DATA demonstrates that online gaming and security need not be contradictory with its security packages: G DATA TotalCare 2008, G DATA InternetSecurity 2008 and G DATA NotebookSecurity. All three security solutions are equipped with a gaming-optimised firewall – switching it off during a gaming session is therefore no longer necessary.
Further Links:
- G Data
