The gaming industry has been evolving for the past few years. For those working in the gaming industry, this is serious business while it is more of a recreation for most of us.
But what most people don’t know is the fact that cybercriminals has an eye for all gamers too. Gaming hackers known as steam stealer is an evolving breed of malware taht is responsible for hijacking the user accounts of the popular gaming platform that is known as Steam.
So what’s the goal of these steam stealers? its aim is to steal online gaming items and user account credentials and reselling them to the black market. it is distributed to cybercriminals under a malware-as-a-service (MAAS) model.
So what is Steam?
Steam is a gaming website wherein one can buy and sell games in all gaming platforms. Owned by Valve, it has over 100 million registered users and thousands of games that is available worldwide for download. You can check out the website here: www.store.steampowered.com
Because of its popularity to gamers, the website has been a target for all fraudster groups who can sell the Steam user credentials on the black market. based on the latest Steam data, 77,000 accounts are hijacked nd pilaged every month.
Kaspersky lab researchers Santiago Pontiroli and Bart P. found out that the new breed of malware known as Steam Stealer is the main culprit on the hijacking of the user accounts on the Steam platform.
How Steam Stealer works
just like any malware, Steam Stealer works in a MAAS model – available for sale in different versions, with distinct features, user manuals, custom advise for distribution, and many others. the spreading of the malware is done by using different cloned websites or through social engineering approach, wherein the victim is targeted with direct messages.
Once the Steam Stealer is in the user’s system, it grabs the user’s credentials and the information that maintains the user’s session. once it’s done, the can take over the user’s account.
these steam Stealers has been attacking users of the website, especially those from Russia, where the Steam platform is the most popular. This is why Kaspersky advises everyone to have an updated security solution so that users can enjoy their games without the fear of being hijacked by the Steam Stealers.
To know more about the security threats in the gaming industry, be updated on the latest trends by checking out the blog post here t www.securelist.com.