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Hackers are using ripped versions of the popular new shooter to spread infostealers and command-and-control infrastructure.
Hackers are taking advantage of one of the biggest video game launches of the year, and using cracked versions of Battlefield 6, released last month by gaming giant Electronic Arts, to spread malware to unsuspecting victims.
“Cyber criminals take advantage of major events to push their malware, and the release of a critically acclaimed title is a certain attack vector,” cyber security firm Bitdefender revealed in a 26 November blog post.
“As soon as the game became available for download, criminals began spreading fake cracked versions of Battlefield 6 on torrent sites and underground forums. These fake cracked games are actually infected installers and apps delivering stealers, advanced evasion payloads, and even command-and-control (C2) agents.”
As well as pirated versions of the game and its installer, hackers are also utilising game trainers – applications designed to alter game files in order to level up a character or unlock in-game currency – to spread their malware.
Cracked games have been popular among gamers for decades, often shared by well-known figures in the community via torrent sites and underground forums, even in hacking forums in some instances. In this case, hackers are using the names of two cracking groups, InsaneRamZes and RUNE, to lend legitimacy to their compromised files.
Multiple cracked versions of the game and its related trainers are currently in circulation, but none are functional. Instead, one trainer installs what Bitdefender calls “an aggressive infostealer”, designed to target browsers and crypto wallets.
Similarly, another cracked version of the game features regional evasion techniques, leading it to terminate on devices operating in Russia and surrounding countries, while another version deploys a C2 agent that can take over a machine and maintain persistence on it.
Perhaps most worryingly is the fact that these compromised versions of the game are relatively easy for unsuspecting players to find. One compromised Battlefield 6 trainer can be found on the second page of a Google search, suggesting “numerous possible victims”, according to Bitdefender.
“The discovery of these malicious Battlefield 6 pirated versions and trainers underline a very real, incredibly active threat model in the gaming landscape – attackers are exploiting players’ curiosity and impatience for newly launched titles,” Bitdefender said.
“While it’s impossible to tell how many people downloaded the malware, we observed hundreds of active seeders and leechers for the torrents, which means they’re all potential victims.”
You can read the full blog post here.
David Hollingworth has been writing about technology for over 20 years, and has worked for a range of print and online titles in his career. He is enjoying getting to grips with cyber security, especially when it lets him talk about Lego.
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