Gaming Industry Experiences Surge in DDoS Attacks 94%

Layer 7 Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks on the gaming industry have increased by 94% in the past year.

Akamai said the data underscores the growing cybersecurity challenges facing the industry, which has 2.58 billion participants and a market valuation of $184.4 billion.

The analysis, which covers data from January 2023 through June 2024, outlines security threats within the gaming community. Gamers, who are often more tech-savvy than the average consumer, can pose an insider threat that can wreak havoc. Disgruntled individuals can create bots to target hosts or utilize in-game chat features to spread harmful content.

Akamai explained that from an economic perspective, the high revenues and large player base of the gaming industry make it a prime target for cyber threats. New vulnerabilities have been created by the rise of subscription services, which are essential for accessing multiple new games. The increase in accounts and transactions provides more opportunities for credential theft and phishing scams.

The report also noted a significant increase in Layer 7 DDoS attacks, with more than 25 billion attacks in June and August 2023, respectively. The Asia-Pacific and Japan (APJ) region reported the highest number of attacks, totaling 186 billion in 18 months and generating $85.8 billion in revenue.

Bot activity also saw a significant increase, with January 2024 alone recording 147 billion bot requests, up 3,91% from the previous year.Important events such as the Steam Summer Sale are particularly prone to these surges, suggesting a period when gamers are most vulnerable to attack.

Web Application Firewall (WAF) attacks grew by 94% during this period, while SQL Injection (SQLi) attacks became the most common traditional Web threat, with over 700 million reported attacks.

Regionally, North America suffered the highest number of cyberattacks, far outpacing Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) and Asia Pacific and Japan (APJ).

As the gaming industry continues to grow, its influence and the technical skills it fosters are evident. However, these strengths also make it a target for cyber threats, requiring strong and adaptable security measures to protect players and developers.