In the dynamic realm of the gaming industry, where competition is fierce and player engagement is paramount, a new threat has emerged that demands our attention: account takeover attacks orchestrated by sophisticated clickbots. These insidious automated bots are no longer just a nuisance but a formidable force capable of compromising user accounts, draining ad budgets, and undermining the trust and integrity of the gaming ecosystem.
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With every gaming business turning a global entertainment hub, there is an emergence of these deceptive clickbots that exploit vulnerabilities, compromise user accounts, and undermine the very foundation of trust in the gaming community. To combat this ever-evolving threat, gaming industry stakeholders must arm themselves with knowledge, awareness, and effective countermeasures to protect their platforms, players, and profitability.
In this blog, we will discuss how clickbots launch account takeover attacks in the gaming industry, what the consequences of ATO attacks are, and how to protect your gaming app from the account takeover attacks of clickbots.
Clickbots and Account Takeover Attacks: What is an Account Takeover Attack?
Account takeover is an identity theft where bots or fraudsters illegally gain access to a user’s account and cause subsequent mobile app fraud. Fraudsters adopt different techniques like credential stuffing, botnets, phishing, and more to get hold of users’ personal information and login credentials. These login credentials are then used to log in as users and operate their accounts with unauthorized access.
In the gaming industry, a user’s account is connected to their payment methods and various in-game assets, which are at risk of being compromised, stolen, or misused in the case of a successful account takeover. In recent times, there has been a spike in ATO attacks on online gaming platforms. A recent example is that of the famous AAA title game, Electronic Arts Inc. (EA), whose users’ data was leaked on a public forum by threat actors. The entire database contained around 780 GB of user data, revealing critical user information of users worldwide.
With such steep rise in account takeover attacks, let’s understand who is behind them and what their motives are.
Who is behind account takeover attacks?
Although many fraudsters have an intent to carry out ATO attacks, their capabilities to do so have only been possible due to technological advancements and more importantly, the availability of clickbots. Clickbots are automated scripts programmed to mimic human behavior and generate large-scale clicks, installs, or registrations on an ad campaign. These software programs can navigate through various web pages and mobile apps, performing malicious activities and generating fake engagements without any detection.
With the use of clickbots, fraudsters can automatically and stealthily gain access to user accounts. Let’s understand how clickbots perform account takeover attacks.
How do clickbots perform account takeover attacks in the gaming industry?
Clickbots are designed to generate large-scale ad clicks on mobile ads. These bots are programmed to mimic human behavior and make their engagements look as real as possible. Along with ad fraud, clickbots are also used to perform account takeover attacks in the gaming industry. A comprehensive account takeover attack using clickbots can be understood in the following steps:
1. The Data Breach
Every successful account takeover attack is usually preceded by a large-scale data breach. Fraudsters, with the help of botnets, obtain usernames, email addresses, passwords, and other sensitive personal information. This data is collected through techniques like phishing, website scraping, or other malware-based attacks.
2. Credential Testing
Once the fraudsters have gathered user credentials, they test the credibility of the collected credentials on multiple websites and apps. Since most users reuse the same password across different platforms, this gives fraudsters an opportunity to access various accounts of the same user.
3. Masking the Identity
As a standard process, gaming platforms and apps keep a track of user logins from different devices and IPs. This enables the platforms to flag logins from unfamiliar devices and prevent any account takeovers. Fraudsters use residential proxies to fake their device and location information to make the login look like it came from a legitimate user.
4. Automated Logins
Once the fraudsters’ proxy is up and running, they launch large-scale automated login attempts with the collected credentials. This is where clickbots come into the picture. These bots are programmed to perform login attempts at scale and emulate human behavior to avoid detection.
5. Account Takeover
Clickbots, then, test the credential combinations and once successful, gain access to user accounts. Post account takeover, the bots either lock out the original user by changing the account details or remain undetected to carry out further malicious activities.
6. Stealing the Assets
Once the account is taken over, the fraudsters gain access to the user’s in-game assets, payment methods, and personal information. These assets are then either sold on dark web marketplaces or used to make unauthorized purchases.
Now that we have understood how clickbots perform account takeover attacks, let’s see the consequences of such attacks.
What are the consequences of account takeover attacks?
ATO attacks can have far-reaching consequences, impacting not just individual players but the entire gaming ecosystem. Let’s discuss them in detail:
1. Financial Repercussions
Financial repercussions can be huge, both for gamers and the gaming industry. Players may have their credit card details, in-game assets, or even their entire accounts compromised and misused. This can result in unauthorized purchases, drained bank accounts, and identity theft. On the other hand, for the gaming industry, such attacks can result in loss of revenue due to chargebacks and damaged reputation, which can impact player retention and acquisition. The financial impact of ATO attacks can have long-lasting effects that hinder the growth and sustainability of the gaming business.
2. Data Breach
ATO attacks can result in a data breach, potentially compromising sensitive user information. This can include personal details, payment information, and even gaming progress. With this valuable data in hand, fraudsters can engage in various malicious activities, such as identity theft or selling the data on the dark web. Additionally, a data breach can severely damage the reputation of a gaming platform, leading to loss of trust from players and potential legal consequences.
3. Impact on Genuine Gamers
When accounts are compromised, it can result in the loss of valuable in-game assets, progress, and achievements that players have worked hard to attain. This not only leads to frustration and disappointment but also diminishes their overall gaming experience. Moreover, ATO attacks can also result in unfair competition, as hackers gain an advantage by accessing rare items or using cheats. This not only discourages genuine players from continuing their gaming journey but also creates an imbalanced environment where skill and dedication are overshadowed by fraudulent activities.
How to protect your gaming app from clickbots-driven account takeover attacks?
Protecting your gaming app from ATO attacks through clickbots requires a proactive and multi-layered approach. Here are some effective measures you can take to safeguard your platform and users:
- Adopt fraud management solution: Utilizing a reliable fraud management solution can prove to be a game-changer when it comes to detecting and preventing ATO attacks. Such solutions leverage advanced technologies like machine learning and behavioral analysis to identify patterns of suspicious activities and block fraudulent attempts in real time.
- Two-factor authentication: Enabling two-factor authentication provides an additional layer of security to prevent ATO attacks. By requiring users to verify their identity through a second factor, such as a unique code sent to their mobile device, it becomes significantly harder for clickbots to gain unauthorized access.
- Anti-bot system: Deploying an anti-bot system is crucial to detect and block malicious clickbots that attempt account takeover attacks. These systems employ various techniques, such as IP reputation checks, browser fingerprinting, and JavaScript challenges, to differentiate between genuine users and automated bots.
By implementing these measures, you can fortify your gaming app's security and provide a safe and secure environment for your players to enjoy their gaming experience without worrying about account takeover attacks.
A robust ad fraud management and prevention platform like ClearTrust offers a 360-degree protection suite to safeguard gaming and other apps from click fraud, account takeover attacks, and other forms of mobile ad fraud. Want to know more? Get in touch with us to understand how ClearTrust can help you detect and block sophisticated account takeover attacks in real-time.
