It has been reported that a computer virus has spread among tens of thousands of Fortnite players, as hackers seek to take advantage of the vast numbers playing the popular video game. Security researchers at game-streaming platform Rainway uncovered the issue, which originates from a YouTube video claiming to offer free units V-Bucks – a virtual in-game currency. Ross Rustici, Senior Director, Intelligence Services at Cybereason commented below.
Ross Rustici, Senior Director, Intelligence Services at Cybereason:
“The monetization of Fortnite by hackers is surprising only in how ineffective it has been thus far. The most recent example netted only .062% of users. Over the years, online gaming has become significantly safer and this latest attempt only further illustrates how far out on the periphery hackers must go to try to bandwagon on popular gaming fads. The bigger concern here is the chosen intrusion vector. The ability for hackers to create seemingly legitimate content around a social phenomenon that has a high click rate to deliver malicious code and ads is a serious problem for YouTube. Given the high streaming rates and people’s inherent trust with such a well known site, this delivery method will continue to be seen as a highly effective method for hackers. How YouTube and parent company Alphabet combat this type of abuse will help determine whether this is another blip on the cybersecurity radar or a persistent method that requires a third party solution to combat.”
