Cybersecurity firm NortonLifeLock has released findings of survey of gamers, stating 75 per cent of gamers surveyed in India have experienced a cyberattack on their gaming account. 4 out of 5 Indian gamers have been impacted financially to hacking losing Rs 7,894 on an average to cyber criminals.

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The survey was conducted from August 24 through September 14, 2021 in Australia, France, Germany, India, Japan, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States. 703 gamers from India participated in the survey.

“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 per cent and in-game items 58 per cent),” said Ritesh Chopra, director, sales/field marketing, India and SAARC countries, NortonLifeLock.

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“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,” he added. The report revealed that 66% of hard core gamers globally have been impacted by some form of cyber attacks compared to just 46% of all gamers.

2 out of 5 gamers in India said they were somewhat likely to hack into the account of a friend, family member, or romantic partner if they knew it would give them a competitive advantage. 56 per cent of the respondents said they were likely to exploit a loophole or bug in a game. About 48 per cent would consider paying to take possession of another user’s gaming account, 46 per cent would consider installing cheats to their gaming account or device, and 39 per cent said they would consider hacking into the gaming account of a random player.

More than two in five gamers have been tricked into compromising their personal security, either by downloading malware onto a device (28 per cent) or sharing account information online (26 per cent). Furthermore, 20% gamers have been duped, with their personal information stolen and posted or shared publicly online, without their consent.

“Gamers are also willing to take various actions that could compromise the security of themselves or others, simply to give themselves a competitive edge,” the report said.