Security News

Gamers Are The Cyber Threat You Need To Watch

New research from Sophos digs into malware called Baldr that goes after gamers. The malware steals all credentials, including sensitive work information on the targeted device.

Watch out: The video games your employees play at home could be putting your business at risk of a cyberattack.

That’s according to John Shier, a senior security expert at Sophos, who presented research on malware called Baldr at Black Hat 2019.

“This is just a smash and grab. That’s the best way to describe it: I’m going to get in there and grab as much information as possible from your computer and then try to make something of it. This could include things like the credentials you use to access your work environment,” Shier said in an interview with CRN.

First spotted this past January, Baldr’s principal reseller claimed to have more than 200 customers within three months. Here’s how it works: Baldr is distributed through YouTube videos that claim to offer cheat tools and discounts for popular video games. When a victim clicks on the link, Baldr steals credentials, cookies and cached data of resale value.

Experts say gamers have become a growing target. Research from Akamai, an internet delivery and cloud services company, identified 12 billion “credential stuffing” attacks against gaming websites in a 17-month period.

Learn more about the threat landscape and the security technologies to protect your business against them in CRN’s video.