The video game developer Riot Games, recognized for publishing games such as League of Legends and Valorant, has been hacked. "The LA-based game publisher disclosed the incident in a Twitter thread on Friday night and promised to keep customers up-to-date with whatever an ongoing investigation discovers. " (Bleeping Computer, 2023). The company has stated that its development environment had been a victim of a social engineering attack. Multiple development teams have confirmed the security breach, including the League of Legends development team and Teamfight Tactics. However, there has been no indication that player data or personal information was compromised. One consequence of the attack; is Riot Games will be unable to release content leading to delays in the anticipated release date of the next major patch. The company's head of studio released a statement explaining that there will be no changes in the release plan of Patch 13.2; however, aspects of Patch 13.2 have the possibility of being moved to Patch 13.3, which debuts on February 8. The league team is attempting to hotfix what they can to deliver the planned and tested balance changes on time.
Gaming companies have become increasingly popular victims of cyber criminals. The attack on Riot Games proceeds two attacks focused on gaming companies. In September 2022, 2K games help desk platform became susceptible to hackers leading to hackers pushing malware via embedded links in fake support tickets. Rockstar Games also experienced an attack in September where the Lapsus Group was the primary suspect behind the attack, which caused a leak of in-development footage from an upcoming version of Grand Theft Auto.
Users should always be cautious of individuals or organizations that ask for personal information. Most companies will not ask for sensitive data from its customers. If in doubt, users should verify with the company itself to avoid any potential issues.
Always take a close look at the sender’s display name when checking the legitimacy of an email. Most companies use a single domain for their URLs and emails, so a message that originates from a different domain is a red flag.
As a rule, users should not click links or download files even if they come from seemingly “trustworthy” sources.
Mitigation tips:
Check for mismatched URLs. While an embedded URL might seem perfectly valid, hovering above it might show a different web address. In fact, users should avoid clicking links in emails unless they are certain that it is a legitimate link.
Be on the lookout for any grammatical errors and spelling mistakes. Legitimate companies will often employ proofreaders and editors who ensure that the materials they send out are error-free.
Don't be frightened or intimidated by messages that have an alarmist tone. They should double check with the company if they are uncertain about the status of their accounts.
Phishing emails are designed to be sent to a large number of people, so they need to be as impersonal as possible. Users should check whether the message contains a generic subject and greeting, as this can be a sign of a phishing attempt.
Although not every end user has access to advanced anti-phishing software, they can still use the built-in protection of their email clients to filter messages. One example is setting the email client to block all images unless approved.
Legitimate companies will never send confirmation emails unless there are specific reasons for doing so. In fact, most companies will avoid sending unsolicited messages unless it’s for company updates, newsletters, or advertising purposes.
Users should always take the context of an email or message into account. For example, most online accounts do away with viewable member numbers, so users should be wary if they receive emails containing a “member number” for services that generally don’t use them.
It is important to take note of unusual information in the text of the message. Any mentions of operating systems and software that are not typically used by consumers can often be indicators of a phishing attempt.
If it seems suspicious, it probably is. Users should always err on the side of caution when it comes to sending out personally identifiable information through messages and emails.
Source: https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/ne...ed-delays-game-patches-after-security-breach/