Panopticon Laboratories Warns Online Video Game Publishers of Imminent Threats from Cyber Attacks
COLUMBUS, Ohio (PRWEB) May 31, 2016 -- Panopticon Laboratories, the world’s first and only cybersecurity company for video game publishers, today announced the release of its first whitepaper entitled, “Following the Money: Video Games as a Target for Cyber Attack.” The whitepaper is available for free download at https://www.panopticonlabs.com/resources/#white-papers.
As the video game industry's business model continues to evolve, and revenue is generated primarily through online gameplay and in-game purchases, financially motivated cyber criminals – from amateur cheaters to extraordinary-skilled hackers – are exposing gaping vulnerabilities in online video game 'security', which compromises the integrity of the in-game experience. Using similar tools and techniques as those that once devastated the banks and big box retailers, today’s cyber criminals face little resistance in targeting the money flowing through the $84 billion global video gaming industry. The results are devastating; in fact, one prominent publisher recently discovered that it was losing more than 40 percent of its in-game revenue per month, equating to over $8 million in lost revenue for the year.
In this whitepaper, Panopticon Labs explains:
• The chronological evolution of the video game industry’s business model
• The birth of the ‘Gray Market’ economy for in-game items and virtual currency and its current threat landscape
• Why cyber criminals are so attracted to the industry and how recent attacks have been so successful
• Video games’ current safeguards, such as rules-based security and multi-factor authentication, have, and will continue to fail publishers
• What video game publishers and developers must do to identify and mitigate risk
“Online video games are the next great frontier in cyber crime,” said Matthew Cook, co-founder of Panopticon Laboratories. “There is so much money flowing through these popular games, but little, if any, defenses to protect the integrity of the in-game experience. Hopefully, it will not take an event like Sony Pictures for video game publishers to get serious about cybersecurity.”
Panopticon Labs is the first and only cybersecurity company to protect online video game publishers from the financial and reputational damages that can result from in-game cyber attacks. To do so, the company has developed a proprietary risk management analysis engine to identify a baseline of normal activity for every online player within a game. Upon discovering anomalous behavior, such as an abnormal item transfer or suspicious or erratic gameplay, Panopticon Labs alerts publishers with more than 99 percent accuracy. It also provides tools for quick and easy incident investigation and remediation.
For more information on Panopticon Labs, visit http://www.panopticonlabs.com and follow @panopticonlabs on Twitter. The latest whitepaper on cyber threats to online video games is available for free download here: https://www.panopticonlabs.com/resources/#white-papers.
About Panopticon Laboratories
Panopticon Laboratories is the first and only cybersecurity company for online video game publishers, built to protect online video game publishers from the financial and reputational damages that can result from cyber attack. Through proprietary technology that is uniquely focused on gameplay itself, Panopticon Labs sets a baseline of activity for every player that participates in online play. Upon discovering anomalous behavior, Panopticon alerts publishers with more than 99 percent accuracy, along with providing recommendations for incident investigation and immediate remediation. Panopticon was founded in 2013 and is based in Columbus, Ohio. For more information on Panopticon, visit http://www.panopticonlabs.com and follow @panopticonlabs on Twitter.
Evan Goldberg, AR|PR, http://www.arpr.co, +1 855.300.8209, [email protected]
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