More than 4 in 5 Indian Gamers surveyed were Impacted Financially as a Result, losing Rs 7894 on average. (File: Image) Indian adults who play online games are susceptible to cyber attacks, with 3 out of 4 gamers experiencing cyberattacks on their gaming accounts, and at least 4 out of 5 gamers losing at least Rs 7,894 on an average, revealed a new report by Norton LifeLock.
The report titled: “Special Release – Gaming and Cybercrime,” conducted by the Harris Poll, among 703 Indian adults who play online games, noted that gamers are also willing to take action that could compromise their security or of others, simply to give themselves a competitive edge. Turns out, 2 out of 5 Indian gamers (42 percent) say they most likely to hack into a friend, family member, or romantic partner’s account if they knew it would give them a competitive advantage.
Further, 56 percent of respondents said that they are likely to exploit a loophole or bug in a game to give themselves a competitive advantage, and around 2 out of 5 or more would consider paying to take possession of another user’s gaming account (48 percent), installing cheats to their gaming account or gaming device (46 percent), or hacking into the gaming account of a random player (39 percent).
In addition, over 2 out of 5 gamers (41 percent) have been tricked into compromising their personal security, either downloading malware to a gaming device (28 percent) or being tricked into sharing account information online (26 percent). Notably, 1 out of 5 gamers (21 percent) have been doxed (i.e., had personal information stolen and posted/shared publicly online, without their consent).
Interestingly, nearly 3 out of 4 Indian gamers (72 percent) say that they would never fall for a gaming scam, and more than half (53 percent) agree that they don’t give much thought, if any, to the security of their gaming devices.
“In the virtual field we must take precautions to protect information we share, to avoid becoming vulnerable to cyberattack. With online gaming, come concerns including hidden fees and in-game currency, characters, or other items being lost or stolen, as our survey showed to be the case for over half of respondents (fees, 60 percent; in-game items, 58 percent). In these challenging times, it is crucial to stay updated and aware of the threats that can compromise your safety and privacy in this complex digital world,” said Ritesh Chopra, Director Sales and Field Marketing, India & SAARC Countries, NortonLifeLock.
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