Antivirus firm Kaspersky warns of viruses masquerading as legitimate game downloads. Minecraft, The Sims 4, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto are especially sensitive to this. So only download these games via official sales channels, is the advice.
The past nine months Kaspersky’s antivirus software detected and blocked 5.8 million malware attacks, disguising the malicious software as a popular game. With 3 million detections to date, Minecraft is by far the most frequently misused for this purpose. There are several versions of this game, which makes it complicated for new players to download the correct version. Cyber criminals are therefore more than happy to help malicious downloaders into the world.
In addition to Minecraft, the top 5 is completed with The Sims 4, PUBG, Fortnite and Grand Theft Auto V, respectively. Especially in the second quarter of 2020, these types of attacks were common, Kaspersky measured an increase of 66 percent compared to the previous quarter. That would have to do with corona-related lockdowns worldwide, which forced more people to stay at home and they more often reached for games for entertainment. Distributors of malware like to respond to current events.
Steal bank details
The damage the viruses do varies. Most are designed to install other malicious software on the infected system. But Trojans that wanted to steal bank data have also been spotted. Incidentally, not only PC gamers are at risk, the research also looked at fake apps for smartphones. Usually these come in via sideloading, that is, they are not downloaded from the Play Store or App Store.
