Data security risks targeting all industries
The eSports market is one of the fastest growing among entertainment industries. In 2019, worldwide revenues of virtual or in-person video game competitions, totaled $957.5 million, a number which is expected to exceed $1.6 billion by 2024.
Like any online medium, however, this still fledgling enterprise finds itself having to contend not just with cheating players but with cybercrime as well. The recognition of the need for improved security is growing among eSports firms, almost as quickly as their profits. Currently, states a report from Verimatrix and Omdia, 81% of them express desire to increase their firm’s security posture in the near future, as potential cyberattack vectors like non-fungible tokens (NFTs) and blockchain-based games proliferate. In contrast to this position, around 40% of respondents do not use a security service, which would leave them more vulnerable in case of a breach.
While newcomers will unsurprisingly face such challenges, even firmly established industries continue to confront them. Major companies like Mailchimp find themselves just as susceptible as anyone else. The email marketing firm recently confirmed a data breach had occurred via an internal company tool that allowed hackers to access customer accounts. Initially reported by Bleeping Computer, the hackers in this instance used social engineering, using manipulation to exploit human error to obtain confidential data: in this case, gaining access to a tool used by customer support staff.
As quickly as Mailchimp acted, however, the intruders were unfortunately able to achieve at least a portion of their goal, accessing around 300 Mailchimp accounts, and extracting data from a third of these. API keys (application programming interface) were also obtained, which would allow the hackers to send scam emails to customers. Despite the fact that these have been disabled, Mailchimp has nonetheless had reports of phishing schemes sent to the compromised user accounts. Those in the finance and cryptocurrency markets were the primary customers targeted.
Whether a business is well-established or still finding its footing, both have to face questions of how they’re going to get the right tools in place to protect theirs and their customers’ data. Newer industries might have more distance to cover, including issue awareness, but that only makes the problem more pressing.
One of those tools is NetLib Security’s Encryptionizer solution, which offers efficient, transparent data encryption with easy integration into a security structure.
Request a free evaluation here to assess how our product can help you defend these critical assets, your data.