Online gaming has shifted over the past decade. What was once a small-time hobby for a certain group of people, has now become a major focus of time and resources for the majority of kids these days. As a result, hackers have been drawn to the industry in droves as well, making the threat level of being hacked much higher. Here’s how to protect your gaming account from these new challenges in 2024.
The Threat of Online Data
Source: forbes.com
The challenge of protecting your online gaming account is twofold. Firstly, gaming accounts have become much more valuable over time. Not only do they often contain elements of value in and of themselves, such as progression or purchases within a game that can be sold off, but they also contain a significant amount of personal information. From your nickname to your year of birth, all of this data is gold for hackers seeking to sell personal data information online.
On the flip side, so much more personal information is available online in 2024. As a result, hackers may very well be able to access information about individuals from data broker sites, which can then be used to inform guesses on your account passwords.
The Rise of Online Hackers
With the rising popularity of online gaming and the increase in personal data involved, online hackers have also evolved.
The challenge is that hackers are now no longer fellow kids trying to prank other players. Data is a big business, and information can be bought cheaply to crack accounts. As privacy expert Rob Shavell said recently the tools and sophistication of hacking have increased drastically on the dark web, with the hacking community now able to scrape data and then test out different combinations against different gaming platforms.
Speaking about these attempted hacks, Shavell goes on to say, “They don’t have to be successful more than half of the time to have a really good business. A few correct times out of every hundred or thousand guesses, and all of a sudden, there’s a lot of accounts getting taken out.”
What to Do If Your Gaming Account Is hacked
If your gaming account is hacked, there are a few things you can do to try and recover it. First, try contacting the customer support for the game or platform you were playing on. They may be able to help you reset your password or take other steps to secure your account.
If that doesn’t work, or if you’re not sure who to contact, you can try searching online for a solution. There are many forums and websites dedicated to gaming, and someone may have already posted a solution to your problem.
Finally, if all else fails, you can create a new account and start fresh. This isn’t ideal, but it’s better than nothing. Just be sure to take steps to protect your new account so that you don’t end up in the same situation again.
The Different Types of Gaming Accounts
Most online games offer different types of accounts that players can use. The most common are free accounts and premium ones. Free ones are usually sponsored by the game developer or publisher and do not require any payment to use. They typically have limited features and access to game content. Premium, on the other hand, are usually purchased by players and provide access to all game content and features. Some games also offer special ones for certain purposes, such as accounts for parents to monitor their children’s gameplay or for businesses to use for marketing purposes.
Each type has its own set of risks that need to be considered when trying to protect your account information. Free are at risk of being hacked in order to gain access to premium content or features. Premium accounts are at risk of being hacked in order to steal the account holder’s personal information or payment information. Special purpose accounts are at risk of being hacked in order to gain access to the associated services or data. In all cases, it is important to take steps to protect your account information from being accessed by unauthorized people.
One way to protect your account information is to use a strong password that is not easily guessed by hackers. Another way is to use two-factor authentication, which requires an additional piece of information (such as a code from a mobile device) in order to log into an account. You can also limit the amount of personal information that you associate with your gaming account. For example, you can choose to not provide your real name or address when creating an account. Finally, it is important to make sure that the website or service where you are creating your account is secure and uses up-to-date security measures.
The Antidote to a Less Secure Online Space
Source: pcmag.com
While this may all seem like doom and gloom, there is a clear path to making your online gaming account much more robust in 2024. It’s as easy as 1, 2, 3:
- Employ multi-factor authentication. If hackers guess your password, they will likely not have access to a second device, which will thwart their attempted login.
- Use a password manager. With so much personal data being traded on the dark web, using a password that is even remotely connected to something in your life is asking to be hacked. Instead, use https://passwordhero.com/ to create and store a robust, secure password that will be hacker-proof.
- Review your digital footprint. It’s always good to be constantly reviewing your digital footprint as well. Google yourself, see what comes up, and work towards making your data more private.
Put these three steps into place, and you’ll be well on your way to protecting your online gaming account against hackers in 2024.