by TINTSWALO BALOYI
JOHANNESBURG, (CAJ News) – AN increase in activities of cyber criminals targeting gamers has been detected in Kenya and South Africa.
Globally, over the year (July 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022), Kaspersky security solutions detected more than 384 000 users, affected by almost 92 000 malicious or unwanted unique files that mimicked 28 games or series of games.
This is a 13 percent compared to the first half of 2021.
Over the same period, South Africa noted 1 561 unique users were affected by 1 268 malicious and unwanted files.
In Kenya, 1 159 unique users were affected by 968 malicious and unwanted files.
Well-known games such as Roblox, FIFA or Minecraft, for example, as well as the new parts of big series of games, released during last year – Elden Ring, Halo, and Resident Evil – were actively abused by attackers who spread RedLine malware under their guise.
“During the pandemic the gaming industry was greatly boosted, increasing the number of gaming fans several times over,” explained Anton Ivanov, senior security researcher at Kaspersky.
Kaspersky forecasts new types of attacks on gamers in the next year.
Examples are strikes on e-sports, which are now gaining huge popularity around the world.
“That’s why it’s so important to always be protected, so you don’t lose your money, credentials, and gaming account,” Ivanov commented.
– CAJ News