DreamHack and Akamai Report Showing More Than Half of Gamers Have Been Hacked

STOCKHOLM October 20, 2020 —Cyber attacks are an increasing threat in the video game industry, with player accounts and in-game assets a valuable target for cybercriminals. A recent survey carried out by DreamHack and Akamai shows more than half of gamers have had their player accounts hacked in the past. DreamHack and Akamai, together, are working towards helping to secure the games industry and to protect both gamers and gaming companies from cyber threats. Full report available at esportshacked.com.

The “Esports: Hacked” report was released today by DreamHack and Akamai to show the gamers’ perspectives on cyber security in esports. With more than 1200 survey responses from the DreamHack gamers community, the report highlights how big an issue cyber attacks really are in the gaming industry. Over two-thirds of the respondents stated they have experienced in-game phishing attempts; and 8 out of 10 regular esports contestants have come across hacked accounts or assets being sold online.

“Gaming has always brought communities together, so all of us at DreamHack want to ensure our valued communities of fans and players are protected from cyberattacks of this nature,” said Tomas Lyckedal, Strategy and Business Development at ESL Gaming. “These findings are important so everyone involved can also help ensure that, together, we are doing all we can to protect privacy and personal information when engaging on these world stages and global platforms.”

This survey represents one of the first times gamers have been asked how they view the security of their games and gaming accounts. One of the most notable findings was that 51.8% of gamers have had an account hijacked or hacked, 82% of gamers are either neutral or not worried about account compromises.

According to the report, gamers see cyber security as a shared responsibility between gamers and gaming companies. Recent Akamai data also shows noticeable spikes in attacks on the gaming industry in April and May of 2020, with criminals taking advantage of changes in gaming habits driven by the global pandemic.

“Passwords alone aren’t enough to protect gamers and their accounts anymore,” stated Martin McKeay, Akamai Editorial Director (and gamer). “Many game companies have recognized the need to support multi-factor authentication and provide these capabilities to their customers. It’s wonderful to see that 9 of 10 players are using MFA, now we just need to convince the last 10%.”

By combining Akamai’s data of web attacks with actual end-user data and insights sourced from DreamHack’s community of gamers, the two organizations are striving to raise awareness surrounding cyber-security threats facing esports. The goal is to make players and gaming companies more aware of the cyber threats facing them while providing tools to protect themselves.