New report predicts escalating attacks by cybercriminals and players

HONG KONG, CHINA - Media OutReach - October 30, 2019 - Trend Micro Incorporated (TYO: 4704; TSE: 4704), a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, todayannounced the findings of new research predicting multiple cyber threats to thefast-growing electronic sports (eSports) sector. Though cybercriminals havebeen targeting the gaming community since 2010, eSports players, gaming companies,sponsors and viewers will be more at risk over the coming years from datatheft, ransomware, DDoS, hardware hacks and cybercrime-as-a-service.

The eSports industry hasgrown rapidly in popularity over recent years and is projected to reach $1.7B inrevenue by 2021. It has also evolved to include a professional sporting league,with stadiums selling out to host competitions and top players earningmillions. This growth is attractive for financially motivated criminals.

"If there's one thing weknow about malicious actors, it's that they follow the money. Trend Micro hasalready observed financially motivated groups taking advantage of security gapsto target the gaming industry for financial gain, and we expect the same ineSports," said Tony Lee, Head of Consulting for Hong Kong and Macau, TrendMicro. "As eSports becomes a billion-dollar industry, it's inevitable thatattackers will look to capitalize over the coming years. We predict the sectorwill experience the same kind of attacks as the gaming industry, but on a muchlarger scale, with financially motivated actors getting involved for monetaryand geopolitical reasons."

Based on this research,Trend Micro predicts cybercriminals will ramp up their efforts to make moneyfrom ransomware aimed at sponsors and players, DDoS-for-hire services, breachesof personal information (PII), services to illegally boost gaming scores, andstolen gaming accounts. Weak password and authentication security, which isalready enabling widespread account takeover, will continue to play a role inmaking these attacks possible.

The impacts from breaches,ransomware, DDoS and other attacks on gaming companies and sponsors can besevere, leading to damaged brand reputation and revenue loss. The servers usedby companies to host valuable gaming assets are a prime target for exploitationby hackers.

Toprotect these valuable assets, the eSports industry should leverage amulti-layered defense system to protect servers and virtually patch knownvulnerabilities.

To read the full report, Cheats, Hacks, and Cyberattacks: Threats tothe eSports Industry in 2019 and Beyond, please visit: https://www.trendmicro.com/vinfo/hk/security/news/cybercrime-and-digital-threats/cheats-hacks-and-cyberattacks-threats-to-the-esports-industry-in-2019-and-beyond.

About Trend Micro

Trend MicroIncorporated, a global leader in cybersecurity solutions, helps to make theworld safe for exchanging digital information. Our innovative solutions forconsumers, businesses, and governments provide layered security for datacenters, cloud environments, networks, and endpoints. All our products worktogether to seamlessly share threat intelligence and provide a connected threatdefense with centralized visibility and control, enabling better, fasterprotection. With more than 6,000 employees in over 50 countries and the world'smost advanced global threat intelligence, Trend Micro enables organizations tosecure their journey to the cloud. For more information, visit www.trendmicro.com.hk.