Playing video games has always been a fun escape from reality for people of all ages. Increasingly so, as people sought a distraction when the world around them was spiraling out of control. The online gaming world has therefore expanded rapidly. This surge in popularity has not gone unnoticed by threat actors.
As millions of users log in daily, it acts as a captivating target for those who wish to exploit an often unwitting number of persons. As a result, it is no longer sufficient for game development studios to focus only on gameplay mechanics and storylines. They also need to prioritize security measures to protect their players from the ever-evolving threats that lurk in the virtual environment.
In addition, players need to remain vigilant about the dangers while playing. There are many security concerns to be aware of. These include but are not limited to, hacking, malware, and social engineering – which has gained notoriety in recent years.
What is Social Engineering?
Social Engineering refers to the technique of exploiting human behavior to gain access to information, assets, or valuables. It relies on psychological manipulation to trick persons into making security mistakes, exposing data, giving access to restricted systems, and spreading malware through the use of principles of influence.
Principles of Influence
Social Engineering relies on the principles of influence. These are social proof, authority, likeness, urgency, scarcity, and fear.
Social Proof – People are more likely to do things if they see that persons have already done it.
- Authority – Persons tend to obey authority figures
- Likeness – People are easily persuaded by other people whom they like.
- Urgency – Persons are often on a and urgency takes advantage of this fact
- Scarcity – Perceived scarcity will generate demand
- Fear – Using threats to intimidate persons into helping you in your attack
A Social Engineering Lifecycle
How do social engineering attacks work? The social engineering attack Lifecycle is executed over 4 stages.
- Research: The first stage of the lifecycle is used to identify targets, gather information and select an attack strategy. It can take several weeks or months.
- Planning: Once the hacker has all the relevant information they need, their goal is to create a story and engage with the victim to build a relationship. This is the first form of communication between the two parties and determines whether the scheme will succeed. Communication can take place in voice chat, in-game message boards or private messages where the hacker will maintain this for several weeks until they believe the trust has been established.
- Contact: The social engineers will then continue the relationship with the target, integrating a tactical component to encourage the victim to gradually disclose information about themselves. Hackers will commonly use pre-texting to try and encourage or persuade an individual to do so. Cybercriminals could also send phishing messages with a harmful link or attachment that they know the target will open, as they had been building a relationship with trust previously.
- Execute: At this stage, the hacker is ready to launch their attack and gain the information they require to achieve their goal. With the necessary data, the hacker can gain access to user accounts, steal personal data, impersonation and financial loss. If the hacker is able to remain unidentified, and there is no evidence of suspicious activity, it affords them the opportunity for them to return for future interactions. Skilled cybercriminals will also erase all traces of their attack, making it exceedingly difficult for detection.
Common Social Engineering Techniques
Phishing
Phishing is a type of social engineering attack where the target or targets are contacted via email, phone, or message by someone posing as a trusted individual to lure them into downloading malicious software, providing sensitive data, such as personally identifiable information, banking and financial details, passwords, or carrying out actions that expose themselves to cybercrime. It is the most common type of social engineering attack.
In online gaming, bad actors trick the user into giving his or her account details away. They could send an email to gamers telling them they need to confirm their login credentials, where after clicking the link, they are sent to a fake sign-in page.
The common types of phishing attacks include:
Email Phishing
Arguably the most widely known form of phishing, this attack is an attempt to steal sensitive information via an email that appears to be from a legitimate organization/ person. It is not a targeted attack and can be conducted en masse.
Spear Phishing
In contrast, spear phishing is a highly-targeted, well-researched attack generally focused on business executives, public personas, and other high-profile targets.
Smishing
SMS-enabled phishing delivers malicious short links to smartphone users, often disguised as account notices and prize notifications.
Vishing
Vishing – voice phishing, involves a malicious caller purporting to be from tech support, a government agency or a trusted individual and trying to extract personal information, such as banking or credit card information.
Pharming
Also known as DNS poisoning, pharming is a technically sophisticated form of phishing involving the internet’s domain name system (DNS). Pharming reroutes legitimate web traffic to a spoofed page without the user’s knowledge, often to steal valuable information.
Baiting
This social engineering attack occurs when the scammer uses a false promise to lure the victim into a trap where they can steal personal or financial information or trick them into infecting their system with malware. The trap could be in the form of a malicious attachment to peak the victim’s curiosity, for example, a fraudulent link to purchase or receive in-game currency. This then gives the opening for malware to be downloaded onto their computer.
Pretexting
This attack involves composing plausible scenarios – ‘pretexts’, to lure victims into sharing valuable and sensitive information. They present a false but very believable scenario to gain the victim’s trust and make them comfortable revealing certain information. Pretexters may impersonate someone in a position of authority, such as a person of interest, such as a staff member at the game company. After explaining the context, for example, they needed new testers for the online game, the attacker would then ask the victim questions to gain personal and sensitive information, which they could then use to advance other attack scenarios or access their accounts.
Quid pro quo Attacks
As the name suggests, a quid pro quo attack is also called a “something-for-something attack”. Social engineering attackers request the exchange of sensitive data in exchange for a service. For example, they may pose as a helpdesk agent who contacts you about your account about a common issue, where they request your login credentials. Once the credentials are exchanged, this information is used to access other sensitive data stored on the device and its applications or sold on the dark web. If an offer sounds too good to be true, it is most likely a scam and not legitimate.
Cheat Software
In the race to obtain the highest score or fastest completion time, some gamers often choose to cheat the system by downloading cheat software to enhance their performance. In doing this, they unknowingly subject themselves to potential harm. Cybercriminals exploit the gamers’ desire for an edge by creating deceiving cheat programs that directly contrast the gamers’ desires. Unbeknownst to gamers, the software infiltrates their devices, pilfers players’ data, and can negatively affect the performance of their devices. This stolen data can then be used for various illicit purposes, including identity theft, financial fraud, or even unauthorized access to other online accounts.
How to detect social engineering attacks in online gaming?
Social engineering threats often appeal to human vulnerabilities and emotions for in-game rewards, so they can be particularly challenging to detect. Therefore, deafening against them requires you to practice self-awareness. Slowing down and thinking critically before doing anything or responding is always recommended.
Attackers expect you to take action before considering the risks, which means you should do the opposite. However, being aware of common tactics and following best practices that can keep users safe. Here are some questions you can ask yourself to detect social engineering threats.
Are your emotions heightened?
A common tactic involves a bad actor using threatening or intimidating messages, phone calls, and texts that appear to come from an authority figure. This will lead to the user being fearful leading them to being less likely to evaluate their actions. They also may not consider the legitimacy of the situation.
Does this offer sound too good to be true?
If someone contacts you offering free or discounted access to a game or software in exchange for personal information, then they are using an irresistible opportunity. You should consider why they would be willing to give away something of value for your data. Even the most basic information, such as your email could be harvested and sold. If an offer sounds good to be true. It most likely is.
Are there attachments and links in the message?
When viewing emails with attachments or links, if the file names appear vague or unusual, it is recommended that the user reconsider the authenticity of the entire communication. Also, be cautious if the message was sent at an unusual time.
Can this person verify their identity?
Despite how long you and the other online individual have been communicating, if they cannot provide sufficient verification of their identity, do not grant access to the information they request.
How Can Gaming Companies Mitigate Social Engineering Risks?
Gamers aren’t the only ones who need to implement measures to prevent social engineering attacks. Developers can assist gamers by implementing the following mitigation strategies, to reduce burdens from their shoulders best, so they can focus on the gaming experience.
- Security Awareness Training: Allowing the security team to provide comprehensive training to all members of staff, including developers, artists, customer support staff, and managers about social engineering techniques reduce the likelihood of data breaches, identify theft and reduce the chances of staff sharing confidential information. The training should be tailored to recognizing social engineering tactics and responding to suspicious requests or behavior.
- Spreading Awareness to the user base: Gaming companies need to invest time and resources into making the end user aware of common social engineering techniques and following safety precautions such as not sharing personal information, clicking links, and only downloading games from official websites.
- Multi-factor authentication: MFA is crucial for organizations and gaming platforms to protect both employees and user accounts. Employing an advanced MFA approach increases account security and reduces the risk of unauthorized access due to compromised credentials making it more challenging for bad actors to steal your social media account and accounts for financial institutions.
How can individual gamers combat social engineering attacks?
To prevent social engineering attacks, it is essential to be very attentive in discerning a real offer from a fake one. Here’s how to do so.
- Only download games from safe sites and official stores whenever possible. Read reviews before you download. Reviews will be able to warn of any suspicious activities that previously took place.
- Watch out for tempting offers. If the offer feels too good to be true, then most likely it is. You can utilize Google to check the validity of the offer. Pay close attention to the website link of the offer.
- Avoid sharing private and personal information online on social media or public forms. This can be used by bad actors to carry out their attacks as they can easily gain information on you. If the data is already online, do your best to clean up and remove posts where possible.
- Avoid opening emails with attachments from suspicious sources. Even if you know the sender, it is best to contact the sender directly to verify if they are the true sender. Pay close attention to the website you are also being directed to.
- Do not download cheats or any other illegal content. The repercussions of your account being compromised and possibly being banned are not worth it.
- When gaming on a computer, ensure that you update the OS to the latest version. Also, install and update antivirus and other software on the device. Updates can be installed automatically. Scans should be done daily for possible infections. This will keep you on top of any security issues.
- Multi-Factor Authentication should be used as a safety precaution. It helps to ensure your account’s protection in the event of account compromise. By using MF authentication, your login details will be verified by multiple means.
- Perform Regular Backups. As in the unfortunate event of a social engineering attack causing complete hard drive corruption, storing a backup on an external hard drive or in the cloud is crucial.
- Do not provide your username, password, date of birth, social security number, financial data, or other personal information in response to an email or robocall.
- Implementing a good spam filter provides a method for detecting and removing spam, marketing and any other suspicious emails. Goof filters use various kinds of information to determine which emails are likely to be spam. They might also detect suspicious attachments and links that may have been added to a blacklist of suspicious IP addresses. A good spam filter can also analyze the content of a message to determine which are likely to be fake.
Final Thoughts
The risk of social engineering should not dissuade us from online gaming and the community. Cybercriminals remain large for companies and individual players; they aim to exploit human vulnerabilities through baiting, phishing, and much more. As the online gaming community expands, so does the attractiveness for social engineering attackers, who seek to gain unauthorized access to personal details, private information, accounts, and resources.
Recognizing the gravity of this evolving challenge, game developers must prioritize security measures and invest in employee training to defend against social engineering attacks effectively. By spreading awareness among the user base and encouraging best practices, gaming companies can empower players to become more vigilant in identifying and thwarting such deceptive schemes.
Players should also take steps to ensure that they safeguard their gaming experience. By taking the time to analyze messages, refraining from sharing personal data, and implement two-factor authentication, games can build a robust defense against potential attacks.
By staying informed, adopting best practices, and embracing a security-first mindset, we can level up our defenses and ensure a safe and enjoyable gaming experience for everyone. Contact us at Oppos Cybersecurity today!
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Social Engineering Attacks FAQs
Social Engineering refers to the manipulation of individuals into divulging confidential or personal information that may be used for fraudulent purposes. In cybersecurity, it’s a significant concern because it targets the human element, which can be more vulnerable than technological defenses, leading to unauthorized access or data breaches.
Preventing Social Engineering attacks requires a combination of education, vigilance, and technology. Training employees or users to recognize and report suspicious activity, using multi-factor authentication, keeping software updated, and implementing strong, unique passwords are essential steps in safeguarding against these attacks.
Common examples include phishing (using fake emails or websites to gather information), pretexting (creating a fabricated scenario to obtain information), tailgating (gaining physical access to restricted areas), and baiting (enticing users to download malicious software).
Social Engineering focuses on manipulating human behavior rather than exploiting software or hardware vulnerabilities. It often relies on psychological manipulation, tricking individuals into divulging sensitive information or performing actions that compromise security, rather than attacking the technology directly.
While it’s challenging to completely eliminate the risk of Social Engineering, due to its reliance on human behavior, organizations and individuals can significantly minimize risks through continuous education, vigilance, and employing layered security measures. Awareness and a robust cybersecurity policy play vital roles in preventing these attacks.
