By the end of March 2020, both active and concurrent users played games by breaking previous records, which was broke again in March 2021 with nearly 27 million users.
The year 2020 was a closed year due to lockdowns and restrictions that gave boost to a number of games and other related activities.
At least nearly 27 million users were found using the Steam, the most popular online gaming platform, community, and store, in March 2021.
By the end of March 2020, both active and concurrent users played games by breaking previous records, which was broke again in March 2021 with nearly 27 million users.
Repercussion to all activities on the internet came as 1.1 million Web attacks that exploited the gaming theme worldwide in April 2021.
“Naturally, as online gaming has become increasingly popular, cybercriminals have been looking for ways to exploit this trend for their personal gain. In spring of last year, Kaspersky researchers found that there was a significant increase in the number of web antivirus detections for sites with names that exploit the gaming theme (i.e. names of popular games and platforms): a 54 per cent increase in the daily number of blocked redirects in April 2020 when compared to January 2020,” said a press release from Kaspersky on Sunday.
“Even after lockdowns subsided in the spring, the number of web attacks exploiting the gaming theme continued to rise, reaching an all-time high in November 2020 of nearly 2,500,000. After a decline at the beginning of 2021, the number of web attacks has once again been increasing, reaching 1,125,010 in April 2021, an increase of 34 per cent when compared to March this year,” the release said.
To stay safe from attacks while gaming, Kaspersky experts recommend:
- Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication (2FA) where possible to protect your video-gaming accounts
- Be wary of any cheats and pirated copies of video-games, since it’s one of the favorite lures used by cybercriminals
- Use a strong, reliable security solution that won’t slow down your computer while you’re playing, such as Kaspersky Total Security. It works smoothly with Steam and other gaming services.
- It’s safer to buy games only on official sites, and wait for the sales — they take place fairly often, so you won’t be sitting on your hands for long.
- Beware of phishing campaigns and unfamiliar gamers. It’s a good option to double-check the website you are redirected to via the link in the received email and the extension of a file you are going to open.
Try not to click on any links to external sites from the game chat, and carefully check the address of any resource that requests you enter your username and password; the page may be fake.