A whopping slice of Indian gamers, 81% to be precise, have lost on an average Rs 7,894 due to malicious cyberattacks that the gaming industry is increasingly prone to. That would make it four in five gamers in India have lost financially due to cyber threats.
According to the 2021 Norton Cyber Safety Insights Report: Special Release – Gaming & Cybercrime, conducted by The Harris Poll, 75% of Indian gamers have experienced cyberattack to their gaming account. Around 35% of them detected malicious software on a gaming device (35%) and while 29% detected unauthorised access to an online gaming account.
The survey was conducted among 703 Indian adults who play online games.
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Online gaming is not all fun & games
Thanks to the Covid-19 and the resultant lockdown, gaming has got further impetus. Around 62% in India said they picked up gaming during the pandemic and 60% said their gaming time has increased since the dreaded virus breakout.
The report said that 42% of Indian gamers are at least somewhat likely to hack into the account of their friends or acquaintance if they knew it would give them a competitive advantage.
Further, 56% respondents in India also said they would most likely to exploit a loophole or bug in a game to give themselves an edge in the game, and around 48% said they would consider paying to take possession of another user’s gaming account. Around 46% said they wouldn't mind installing cheats to their gaming account or gaming device, and 39% was not averse to hacking into the gaming account of a random player.
It all points to the fact that gaming industry in India is no longer just about fun and games. A point that was underlined by Ritesh Chopra, Director Sales and Field Marketing, India & SAARC Countries, NortonLifeLock. He said. “With online gaming, come concerns including hidden fees and in-game currency, characters, or other items being lost or stolen, as our survey showed to be the case for over half of respondents (fees, 60%; in-game items, 58%). In these challenging times, it is crucial to stay updated and aware of the threats that can compromise your safety and privacy in this complex digital world."
The report surveyed adults over 18 plus to explore the cyber safety risks gamers face and their online security attitudes and behaviours.
