How games companies can protect themselves from cyber attacks
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Conventional wisdom suggests it's a matter of when, not if, your business is targeted by cyber criminals.
Employees at Insomniac were left reeling from one of the most devastating hacks in gaming history, after a ransomware group posted 1.67 terabytes of data on the dark web. Last June, hackers hit Blizzard with a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack, with players unable to access Diablo 4 for up to 12 hours. It follows "constant" cyber attacks against Stalker 2 developer GSC Game World, a ransomware attack against Riot, one against Ubisoft discovered in March 2022, and countless other examples.
As the video games industry continues to grow, so does it increasingly become a viable target. Whether it's for money, competitive advantage, or even politics, hackers target are bringing big names and AAA studios to their knees. Landmark Akami research published last year showed web application attacks on the games industry grew 167% between 2021 and 2022 – building on its previous work uncovering security risks in the games industry.
But this is just one example of an entry method. Indeed, developers, publishers, and others face risks and attack variants that businesses across the wider economy may not. They must contend with a variety of attack methods and take specific measures to ramp up their cyber security efforts before they become the victim of another headline-grabbing cyber attack.
This article explores the reasons behind cyber attacks on the games industry, the types of attacks games companies might face, and how to prevent them or minimise the impact.
Seeing the entire industry as a homogenous entity is a mistake, given there is such variation within it, not only by role in the broader supply chain but also by the size of the business. There are, however, unique risks games companies are exposed to.
"Imagine a platform that has millions of users spending money on skins or other
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