In 2020, global revenues for electronic sports were almost $1 billion. This figure may not be surprising appreciating that, in the same year, the video games industry as a whole was worth some $174.9 billion according to Bloomberg. This is some four times higher than the movie / film revenue. Gaming has, for some time, been the largest entertainment market in the world. Esports is therefore one element in a very well established industry.

This type of growth does not go unnoticed and Esports have become a target for cyber criminals. The digital platforms supporting the industry are repositories of personal data, including payment card information, and are therefore tempting targets. 

In recent years there have been a number of successful attacks on Esports platforms. Hackers have stolen gamer account credentials from Steam and the E-Sports Entertainment Association League. The ESEA hosts professional tournaments offering cash prizes and 1.5m customer records were posted online when it refused to pay a $100,000 ransom. Notwithstanding the ESEA patching the affected database, the hackers also later accessed a different area of their environment and changed player statistics. 

All digital industries are particularly vulnerable to attacks. And the growing Esports treasure chests will attract the bandits.