Trend Micro Research Finds Growing Cyber Threats Targeting eSports Industry

New report predicts escalating attacks by cybercriminals and players

HONG KONG, CHINA – Media OutReach – October 30, 2019 – Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, today
announced the findings of new research predicting multiple cyber threats to the
fast-growing electronic sports (eSports) sector. Though cybercriminals have
been targeting the gaming community since 2010, eSports players, gaming companies,
sponsors and viewers will be more at risk over the coming years from data
theft, ransomware, DDoS, hardware hacks and cybercrime-as-a-service.

The eSports industry has
grown rapidly in popularity over recent years and is projected to reach $1.7B in
revenue by 2021. It has also evolved to include a professional sporting league,
with stadiums selling out to host competitions and top players earning
millions. This growth is attractive for financially motivated criminals.

“If there’s one thing we
know about malicious actors, it’s that they follow the money. Trend Micro has
already observed financially motivated groups taking advantage of security gaps
to target the gaming industry for financial gain, and we expect the same in
eSports,” said Tony Lee, Head of Consulting for Hong Kong and Macau, Trend
Micro. “As eSports becomes a billion-dollar industry, it’s inevitable that
attackers will look to capitalize over the coming years. We predict the sector
will experience the same kind of attacks as the gaming industry, but on a much
larger scale, with financially motivated actors getting involved for monetary
and geopolitical reasons.”

Based on this research,
Trend Micro predicts cybercriminals will ramp up their efforts to make money
from ransomware aimed at sponsors and players, DDoS-for-hire services, breaches
of personal information (PII), services to illegally boost gaming scores, and
stolen gaming accounts. Weak password and authentication security, which is
already enabling widespread account takeover, will continue to play a role in
making these attacks possible.

The impacts from breaches,
ransomware, DDoS and other attacks on gaming companies and sponsors can be
severe, leading to damaged brand reputation and revenue loss. The servers used
by companies to host valuable gaming assets are a prime target for exploitation
by hackers.

To
protect these valuable assets, the eSports industry should leverage a
multi-layered defense system to protect servers and virtually patch known
vulnerabilities.

To read the full report, Cheats, Hacks, and Cyberattacks: Threats to
the eSports Industry in 2019 and Beyond, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hk/security/news/cybercrime-and-digital-threats/cheats-hacks-and-cyberattacks-threats-to-the-esports-industry-in-2019-and-beyond.

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro
Incorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make the
world safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions for
consumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for data
centers, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our products work
together to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threat
defense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, faster
protection. With more than 6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world’s
most advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations to
secure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.