Over 84,000 e-gaming accounts in India leaked last year: Kaspersky
What's the story
Cybersecurity firm Kaspersky has revealed a major data breach involving online gaming accounts in India. The company found that over 84,000 user details were exposed last year. The leak is part of a larger trend in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region where Thailand saw the highest number of such incidents with over 1.6 lakh cases.
Regional impact
APAC's gaming boom and cyber threat
The APAC region has become a hotspot for gaming, accounting for over half of the world's gamers. China, India, Japan, South Korea and Southeast Asia's emerging economies play a major role in this dominance. However, with this growth comes an increase in cyber threats targeting sensitive information such as online gaming account credentials.
Leak statistics
Other countries with high number of leaks
Following Thailand, the Philippines and Vietnam have also witnessed a high number of online gaming account leaks. The Philippines recorded nearly 99,273 leaked cases while Vietnam had around 87,969 such incidents. Indonesia (69,909), Malaysia (37,718), South Korea (37,097), China (18,786), Sri Lanka (10,877), and Singapore (4,262) also reported similar data breaches.
Digital growth
APAC region's growing influence on global gaming
Kaspersky's report also highlights the rapid digital adoption and mobile penetration in the APAC region. The company says these factors have fueled exponential growth across casual and competitive gaming segments. With nearly 1.8 billion players, the APAC gaming ecosystem is not only the largest by volume but also one of the most influential in shaping global gaming trends and behaviors.
Cyber threat
Cyber threats on the rise
Kaspersky has warned that the APAC region is fast becoming a hotspot for data-stealing cyber threats. Adrian Hia, Kaspersky's MD for Asia Pacific, said virus threats have increased significantly over the last two decades. From one new virus threat every hour two decades ago, there are now 467,000 new ones every day.