This is my thesis I wrote for my B.S. in Information Security & Intelligence from Ferris State University. I worked with some great people in the video game industry and the media to put this together. It turned out very well, but it’s a monster at 80 pages. If you want to discuss security and video games, I’m your guy. This paper was researched and written under a deadline of 3-months. If I had had more time, it might have been 10-20 pages longer. I could talk about this all day.
Abstract
The prevalence of broadband internet has given rise to internet-connected game consoles and services. The video game industry is now responsible for protecting millions of users from attackers who may wish to steal a user’s account for profit, fun, or malice. This has become more important as user accounts have become integrated or linked to other services. It is now possible for one account to be used to access several services. Attacks against these services—including security breaches and social engineering–have shown that it is likely the industry would benefit from a standardized set of security practices. Individual development studios and publishers have responded to attacks, but there is little evidence of an industry-wide response. To learn how the industry plans to respond to protect their customers in the future, surveys were sent out to publishers that are most closely tied to or involved with the biggest online games, services, and storefronts, such as Valve and Riot.