Those who spend their time online take their digital privacy to heart as they know how dangerous it can be, especially those gamers in the eSports industry.
With a good size of the population being gamers, with around 3.3 billion gamers by 2024, it’s been quite a ride. Nearly 3 billion video games are available as of 2021, with that number growing even more with each passing year. It went from a fad to a globalized industry with a current market with a valuation of just under $300 billion. A lot of data is collected to hit these numbers, yet their security is questionable.
That data acts as a beacon and guiding light for the industry on what direction to go next. Yet is it safe? Especially with how everything is connected online.
In short, it’s not very safe at all, as so many data collection points are being collected in centralized locations that aren’t always safe and secure. So often, we find ourselves the victim of these data leaks or hacks, and there are times when we’re not even made fully aware of it until it’s too late.
Why does the industry need our information?
These companies have a twofold mission when they work to gain their target audience information. First, they work to get this information by requesting it when you set up an account online. Information such as name, address, email address, and even payment preferences can end up stored online for those in-game purchases.
This information is then tied into social media channels that help to bring you the right advertisements, develop an engaged community and ultimately understand what the gamer wants and their preferences.
The darker side of providing your data
While it may seem innocuous, there’s rampant evidence and a history of stolen gamer data, even from the most trusted brands. The theft includes classic money theft and unauthorized charges but also includes stolen games, gaming accounts, and even holding them up for ransom.
While the non-credit card-related items may seem moot to the non-gamer, they could be everything to the gamer. But unfortunately, their virtual gaming identity being stolen is also stealing their investment of time and resources into developing that persona, and they now need to pay even more to get it back.
It can also lead to other types of theft, such as identity theft, which is handled by selling personal information on the dark web. While this can happen on any gaming touchpoint, it can often happen when gamers look for cost-effective alternatives to their games that come loaded with viruses.
As Malina Gones, Ops Supervisor for Cybersecurity at Norton, stated, “there are multiple ways your access becomes vulnerable, ripe for a hacker to take your information, whether it’s phishing emails, cyberbullies, or fake sites gathering your login information, it’s always important to be wary.
There is hope for data protection
The industry has taken notice and had the gaming industry’s brands build out their own cybersecurity divisions to protect user data. Besides secure firewalls and databases, these companies are also going to the next step to monitor suspicious transactions and acts of fraud, similar to how banks check for fraudulent activities.
Blockchain technology also helps to step up security by enabling the creation of ledgers that cannot be hacked through the process of NFT creation. This is on top of already using blockchain tech to have a record of every transaction ever and the ability to monitor them.
What you can do to safeguard yourself online (and with gaming)
These are steps you should take for your own personal cybersecurity habits
- Have different passwords for everything, and make sure they are stronger than the recommended option
- Always use multi-factor authentication
- Whenever you get rid of a device such as a phone or a laptop, erase all data
- Keep your software up to date
- Monitor your own transactions and keep off of illegal sites
Take a moment to think about whether you need to give up your information or not. At the same time, it’s everyone’s responsibility, and those in the gaming industry need to make it a focus during their development. It will only help to strengthen the gaming, esports, and tech industry and allow gamers to always feel comfortable when they play a new game.
