![]() ![]() ![]() These can further be used to conduct “micro-transactions” or purchase “loot boxes”. This has led to the creation of virtual or in-game currencies, which can be purchased using real money, usually via the use of credit cards. With the rapid increase in the popularity of video games, developers have found new ways to monetise them as well. In-game currency, gambling laws, and money laundering This has come about in part due to the US military’s recent attempts to identify and engage Gen Z recruits using online gaming platforms like Discord, which already runs a 17,000-member server for service members to talk about first-person shooter games and participate in the so-called “Army of Tomorrow.” It is part of the Army Recruiting Command’s army e-sports programme, which is designed to unite the army and general population through a shared passion for gaming. ![]() Reportedly, the leaks began in February 2022 in a Discord group called “Thug Shakers Central” created by Teixeira, and later spread to other Discord servers and social media platforms. One of the users, a 21-year-old US National Guard airman Jack Teixeira, seemingly posted the classified documents to win the debate. The motivation behind the leaks remains unclear, but it seems to have originated from an online spat between two players over the Ukraine conflict. Apart from this, they also provided a strong indication that the United States (US) has been spying on its allies, particularly Israel and South Korea. ![]() The documents contained sensitive information such as Ukraine’s status in its ongoing conflict with Russia, potential problems with Ukrainian ammunition supplies, and the losses sustained by the Russian military. The data later found its way to social media platforms like Twitter and Telegram. In April 2023, several highly classified documents, some even marked “Top Secret”, were leaked on a Discord server, dedicated to “Minecraft”, a popular video game. This just goes to show how ignorance of this threat could have unforeseen and potentially catastrophic consequences, even from a national security perspective. The most alarming development, however, was the leaking of secret documents in April 2023 containing confidential US Intelligence on a videogame chat server, in what has come to be described as the worst Pentagon leak in years. Account takeovers, cheating mods, credit card theft, and fraud are all issues faced by gamers on a regular basis. In 2022, the gaming industry became the biggest target of Distributed Denial of Service attacks, accounting for about 37 percent of all such attacks. There has been a surge in cyberattacks on the gaming sector, with an increase of 167 percent in web application attacks in 2021 alone. However, this popular form of recreation has also imperilled cybersecurity. This recent surge in growth has, in a large part, been a result a of the COVID-19 pandemic when the market expanded by about 26 percent between 20. The number of gamers in the world is expected to reach a figure of 3.32 billion by 2024. With a revenue of over US $227 billion in 2022, gaming is no longer the niche industry it was once thought to be. From the emergence of the video game “Pong” in 1972 to the release of “Hogwart’s Legacy” in 2023, the video gaming industry has come a long way. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |