Money laundering has come a long way since 1920’s Chicago. During what some consider the ‘golden years’ of mafia rule, notorious crime boss Al Capone made a fortune by using Laundromats as a front to mix his illegal earnings from drug and alcohol bootlegging with the revenue of his “legitimate” businesses. In doing so, the […]
Account hijacking, or the process by which a hacker or fraudster gains unauthorized and complete access to a player’s account, is not new. In 2012, Kaspersky Labs identified 5,000 new types of malware targeting online games DAILY. In 2015, a hacking group posted 1800 Minecraft usernames and passwords online. According to the cybersecurity firm Trend […]
In a blog article on June 20, Alex Nichiporchik, the CEO of indie game publisher TinyBuild, spoke of his recent issues with online game retailer G2A. In the article, Mr. Nichiporchik claims that G2A’s “business model is fundamentally flawed and facilitates a black market economy”. G2A’s business practices have long been a source of controversy, and have […]
Virtual items and virtual currency are an integral part of today’s online video games and a critical component of the industry’s business model. Unfortunately, financially motivated cyber-criminals have found a way to exploit games for their own financial gain, by selling ill-gotten virtual goods outside of the game for real money. In video games, gray […]
In honor of World Password Day, let’s all take a moment to listen to the ‘L33test of the L33t, and consider the value of game security: But don’t take Betty’s word for it: “”The gaming community has become a highly desirable target for cybercriminals,” said Santiago Pontiroli, Global Research & Analysis Team, Kaspersky Lab. […]
Last month, global cybersecurity company Kaspersky Lab released a new report on Steam Stealer, an “evolving breed of malware that is responsible for hijacking the user accounts of the popular gaming platform, Steam”. For those in the gaming and security industries, news that Steam games are being targeted by cyber attack should come as no surprise: […]
The R Street Institute’s Mike Godwin just published a transcript of his recent talk at a summit attempting to balance the needs of law enforcement and the privacy rights of citizens, in which he attempts to outline his concerns about the FBI’s recent attempt to coerce smartphone manufacturers to build secret “back doors” into their […]