eSport, or electronic sport, has experienced a huge boom in recent years. As the popularity grows, so does the amount of money invested in tournaments, attracting not only fans but also the interest of cybercriminals.
Attacks can have a major impact on the running of tournaments, the reputation of organisers and the overall perception of esports as a serious industry.
It is an important topic, especially at a time when the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has voted to make esports officially part of the Olympic Games and have its own Olympics from 2025.
The video games industry has long since outgrown the film industry. Statista estimates that the video game industry will even reach $455 billion in revenue by 2024.
We register billions of players, thousands of esports teams, multimillion-dollar tournament prizes. And where there’s money, there are cybercriminals.
Attack History
The gaming industry has plenty of experience with ransomware attacks.
For example, Capcom, creator of the legendary Street Fighter, Mega Man, Resident Evil and Devil May Cry franchises, has been attacked. CD PROJEKT RED, the company behind hits such as The Witcher and Cyberpunk 2077, was also severely affected by a serious ransomware attack. Electronic Arts, one of the world’s largest gaming companies, was also attacked and had its data and source code stolen.
Even the closely guarded and long-awaited hit GTA VI did not escape and the creators were blackmailed by a 17-year-old hacker who had earlier attacked Uber.
The costs associated with a successful attack can be enormous. The ransom in such ransomware attacks can run into millions of dollars, and the loss of trust and reputational damage among players and partners can have an even more severe impact.
At the same time, if eSport information is leaked, organisations must also pay corresponding fines for non-compliance with security regulations. Many companies can then run into existential problems.
“Increasingly, we’re also seeing attacks aimed directly at esports. Big gaming events are watched by thousands of people right in the halls and millions of people around the world. Popular gaming platforms have millions of players, so any attack can be very painful. Trust is crucial in this industry because players and fans are very sensitive to any kind of manipulation and disruption, so when matches have to be rescheduled, played in private or any other problems occur, a shadow of doubt falls over the event and the value of the event plummets. And there is no need for some sophisticated threat or ransomware attack either, disrupting the tournament or broadcast and blackmailing teams and organisers can unfortunately be much easier and more effective,” says Shayimamba Conco at cyber security company Check Point Software Technologies.
Non-tech savvy threats
“Moreover, attackers don’t even have to be very tech-savvy; powerful botnets can be rented on the darknet for a few hundred dollars. And hacking attacks can also be part of a competitive struggle. Between teams and even between popular tournaments. For example, discrediting competitors can play a key role in the battle for important partners and sponsors or may result in the exclusion of a competing team from a tournament or withdrawal of known teams from untrustworthy and problematic tournaments. Traditionally, the most common motivation for hackers is financial gain. But attacks can also be motivated by personal or political reasons, seeking revenge or to make a particular agenda visible. And for some hackers, attacking a major tournament is just a matter of prestige and challenge.”
