How can online gaming be a target for cyber criminals? (Part 1)

11th August 2025

Level up your knowledge so you can be better protected the new time you play online games.

When I use the word “gaming,” here, I am referring to digital “video” online games, which almost always require an internet connection – you’re unlikely to face a cyber attack while playing Scrabble. Played via a games console or on PC, gaming is a massive industry, making it a profitable target for cyber criminals.

With games connected to accounts with financial details, and users being connected to play the games, it gives bad actors plenty of reason and opportunity to act: find out their methods, as well as what can be done to avoid them.

Phishing – fake login pages or messages with malicious links can be sent over gaming devices as easily as via email. Often disguised as a promotion for a game, make sure you don’t click on anything that looks suspicious (no name, poor spelling and grammar, links that are written strangely, an urgent request for private details, etc). Remember, if it looks too good to be true then it probably is!

Account hijacking – if a password is weak or compromised and reused, then other people can gain access. Not only can they lock you out, but they can also sell high-level items to other users on black markets (and for certain games players may pay a lot for a particular piece of gear). Ensure your password is secure and different to any others you use, to keep you account secure.

Malware in mods – this is more applicable to PC gamers: if you download mods or cheats (additions to the base game that change it in a way the developers didn’t intend) you risk also downloading malware. This can also happen if you download full games from pirated sources. To avoid getting your device infected with malware it is best to only download content from reputable sites.

DDoS Attacks – competitive players or streamers can be targeted by bad actors, with the attacks overwhelming the game servers and causing the stream to crash. The best way to defend against this sort of attack is with the right defence in play: Cloudflare are well known for preventing DDoS attacks, so if you’re a streamer it may be a service worth using.

Believe it or not, this is only part one: we have more methods that cyber criminals can use to target gamers in our next article. In the meantime, you can contact Interfuture Security for help and advice on keeping your online gaming accounts secure.

YouTube: https://youtu.be/CnSPBK-rXLA