G DATA: Players under attack - P2P downloads hold increasing risk for online gamers
April 2008 by G DATA
According to a recent study on risks of filesharing networks carried out by G DATA Security labs, the percentage of potentially malicious files which disguise as gaming related software has increased during Q1/2008.
For online gamers, P2P networks such as eMule are a popular tool for finding cheats, patches and other gaming related software. What many of them don’t know is that the considerable majority of files offered on such filesharing networks is aimed against them, rather than being helpful.
Starting at an already high level of 58% during January 2008, raising to 62% in February, the percentage of malicious software which pretends to be harmless, gaming related files, has reached a momentary peak of 67% in March.
It seems that gamers are becoming an increasingly attractive target for cyber attackers. Under this aspect it comes as no surprise that stolen online gaming accounts have an even higher trade value than stolen
credit card credentials on the Internet’s black market.
G DATA calls on online gamers to be aware of the risks of cybercrime and to protect themselves using a comprehensive security suite such as G DATA TotalCare.