Activision investigates password-stealing malware targeting gamers

Video game giant Activision is investigating a hacking campaign targeting gamers with the goal of stealing their credentials, TechCrunch has learned.

At this point, the hackers' specific goals (aside from stealing passwords for various types of accounts) are unclear. Somehow, hackers introduce malware to victims' computers and then steal passwords to their gaming accounts and crypto wallets, among others, according to sources.

A person with knowledge of the incidents, who asked to remain anonymous because they were not authorized to speak to the press, said that people at Activision Blizzard are investigating, trying to “help remove the malware” and “working to identify and remediate “. player accounts for any affected person.”

“There is still not enough data on how (the malware) is spreading,” the person said. “It might only be affecting people who have third-party tools installed.”

Activision spokesperson Delaney Simmons told TechCrunch that the company is aware of “claims that some gamer credentials in the broader industry could be compromised by malware when downloading or using unauthorized software” and that the company's servers company “remain secure and uncompromised.

The malware campaign appears to have been first discovered by Zeebler, a person who develops and sells cheat software for the popular first-person shooter game. Obligations. On Wednesday, on the official channel of cheat provider PhantomOverlay, Zeebler said hackers were targeting players (some of whom use cheats) to steal their usernames and passwords.

Zeebler described the effort as an “information-stealing malware campaign,” where malware designed as legitimate-looking software unknowingly installed by the victim surreptitiously steals their usernames and passwords.

Zeebler told TechCrunch that he learned about the hacking campaign when a PhantomOverlay customer had his account stolen from the cheating software. At that point, Zeebler added, he began investigating and was able to find the database of stolen credentials that the hackers were amassing.

After that, Zeebler said it contacted Activision Blizzard and other cheat creators, whose users appear to be affected.

TechCrunch obtained a sample of the supposedly stolen logins and verified that a portion of the data is genuine credentials. It is not clear how old or recent the data is.

At this point, there's no reason to believe that regular players of Activision games are at risk, only those who use third-party apps such as cheats.

In any case, as Activision's Simmons told TechCrunch, users who suspect they may have been compromised can change their password and activate two-factor authentication.