At this point, the continuous rise of Esports is already old news. With tournament prize pools in the tens of millions of dollars, the popularity of Esports is not up for debate. But, with this rise in popularity, cybersecurity is important with, cybercriminals now considering the gaming industry a new target.
In this article, we’ll look at why the gaming sector is a prime target for cybercriminals and some strategies for protecting against those risks.
Why is the Gaming Industry a Prime Target for Cybercriminals?
Esports and online gaming are appealing targets for cybercriminals for a few distinct reasons including:
The Rise of Online Purchases
Targeting the gaming business can result in substantial financial gain. Because gamers are frequently ready to spend money on in-game content and accessories, the gaming industry is ripe with criminals looking to scam gamers with fake offers.
Numerousf Interconnected Online Platforms
A gamer’s personal information and financial data may be at risk if the game’s platform or software has a security flaw that cybercriminals can exploit. As a result, criminals can steal sensitive data such as credit card information.
The Continuous Rise of Online Games
New gamers are constantly joining the gaming industry. This resource pool gives cybercriminals access to a consistent stream of victims. Moreover, since global gamers play Esports, cybercriminals can easily target players in multiple countries at once.
3 Ways to Combat Cybersecurity Threats in the Gaming Industry
Without a doubt, Esports event organizers, teams, and players should all work to protect the sport’s integrity and popularity if the industry is to thrive. The following are crucial actions that each Esports stakeholder should take to strengthen their security posture:
1. Establish a Powerful Security Policy
First and foremost, strengthening security should involve developing, enforcing, and implementing strict security regulations.
You should document technical protections to identify and prevent cyberattacks and cheating. However, they must also pay attention to the company’s personnel and processes, such as how to make security a priority in the minds of employees, personnel, and players. These policies can also include how to set up recurring processes to keep tabs on the effectiveness of the company’s security measures.
2. Use Contracts to Set Up Security Obligations
More prominent Esports stakeholders should contractually force downstream stakeholders to implement sufficient security measures. They can also reserve the right to assess their security environments — a procedure required by data protection regulations where personal data is processed.
3. Use Proxy Servers
Generally, there are two different types of proxies: datacenter proxies and residential proxies.
Gaming proxies are a member of the family of residential proxies. In essence, cheap residential proxies are proxy servers with one or more IP addresses assigned by a local Internet Service Provider (ISP).
Because of this, residential proxies look more accurate than other types of proxies because your IP address will look like that of a conventional residential user. You pay for residential proxies, then use them in your browser or software’s proxy settings. Hence, any site or app you use will see the residential proxies’ server information instead of your device’s IP address.
Because of the surge in instances of identity theft committed online, it is necessary for everybody who uses the internet to take precautions to protect their privacy. This need for protection is especially true for gamers.
With that, residential proxies are a crucial component of online safety. Since residential proxies act as intermediaries between the user and the internet, the user’s data is safe from illegal access. Thus, you should use cheap residential proxies to prevent IP address tracking and security breaches when playing games.
As the gaming industry expands, so too are the number of potential cybersecurity breaches. Cybersecurity in the gaming industry is a serious concern, but there are steps you can take to protect yourself and your data from a looming attack.
Ultimately, every stakeholder in the Esports industry needs to adopt robust security procedures and move toward a more standardized regulatory regime to meet the ever-evolving security issues.
