Jan to Mar, 2024: 1.3m attack attempts on popular children’s online games detected

ISLAMABAD: A global cybersecurity firm has detected nearly 1.3 million attack attempts on kids’ popular children’s online games used through mobile/desktop devices during January to March, 2024.

Hafeez Rehman, technical group manager at Kaspersky informed on Wednesday that as part of the research, we see attacks on children are becoming a traditional vector for cybercriminals that will only become more and more active.

Children are often unaware of the basics of cybersecurity and easily fall into attackers’ traps, for example, when trying to download a free version of a popular game, or a new episode of a favorite cartoon. That’s why cyber hygiene education is a must-have for parents who care about their children’s safety in the online environment,” he commented.

Hafeez Rehman said that to keep your kids safe online, Kaspersky recommended users to stay informed about the latest threats and actively monitoring their children’s online activities, parents can create a safer online environment for their kids. With dedicated apps for digital parenting such as Kaspersky Safe Kids, parents can effectively safeguard their children across both online and offline spaces.

Kaspersky experts looked into the recent threats using as a bite the mention of gaming and toy brands popular among kids like Minecraft, Roblox, LEGO, Disney, and more. As a result of research based on chosen key words, it was found out that the number of attack attempts grew up by 35% in first quarter of 2024, compared to the same period of the previous year. Specifically, almost 1.3 million attack attempts were detected from January to March, 2024.

A total of 1,264,866 attempts to attack mobile and desktop devices disguised as topics popular among kids were detected in Q1 of 2024. This is an increase of 35% growth compared to Q1 2023, when 936,840 attempted attacks were recorded. According to Kaspersky’s data, desktop threats significantly dominate the number of attacks detected during the reporting period – 98.7% versus 1.3% of mobile threats.

Kaspersky researchers also found malicious web pages with toys, dolls and other children’s products. These pages were originally legitimate resources, later hacked by cybercriminals to spread malware. In this case, not only children who want to choose a new toy, but also parents looking for products for children can also become victims.

To help parents introduce their children to cybersecurity, Kaspersky experts have developed the Kaspersky Cybersecurity Alphabet with key concepts from the cybersecurity industry. In this book, kids will get to know new technologies, learn the main cyber hygiene rules, find out how to avoid online threats, and recognize fraudsters’ tricks. To secure children from downloading any malicious files during their gaming experience, Kaspersky advise to install a trusted security solution on their device.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2024