Due to the social distancing facing the coronavirus, the use of video game consoles, such as Nintendo Switch, has increased considerably. Unfortunately, this has not gone unnoticed by hackers, as mentioned by logical security experts. Recently, threat actors have been attacking PayPal accounts linked to Nintento eShop with the aim of buying video game coins (such as Fortnite’s V-bucks), although they could also steal real money.
Through social media, multiple gamers have denounced the hacking of their accounts, attracting the attention of video game enthusiasts and the cybersecurity community.
One of the most recent victims is Twitter user Pixelpar, who is also the editor of a video game blog: “I suspect Nintendo has suffered a considerable attack,” he posted. The editor decided to start his own investigation, formulating a questionnaire that would be answered by those who had experienced a similar incident.
According to logical security experts, to verify if an account has been compromised, Nintendo Switch users can verify a recent login history in the “Login and Security Settings” tab. If an unknown location appears in the list, the account may have been attacked.
In this case, affected users must perform an account recovery process. This process is explained in detail on the company’s official platforms.
Millions of people will remain isolated in their homes over the next few months, so these kinds of attacks could continue. Faced with this possibility, logical security experts and Nintendo recommend that users enable two-step verification.
The following is the process to enable this security layer, step by step:
- Log in to https://accounts.nintendo.com
- Select “Login & Security Settings”, scroll down, and click “two-step verification”
- Click “Enable two-step verification”
- Select “Send” at the end. This will send an email with a verification code. Go back to the page with the code, enter the code, and then click “send” again
- Install Google Authenticator on your smartphone
- Scan the QR code of your Nintendo account on Google Authenticator
- This will cause a verification code to appear on your smartphone. You must then enter this code on the Nintendo Account screen and press “send”
- The backup codes will then appear. This information must be copied to a sheet of paper or a secure location in order to use them if you cannot sign in through Google Authenticator
- Verify that you have entered the backup codes by pressing “saved backup codes” and then click “OK”
For further reports on vulnerabilities, exploits, malware variants and computer security risks you can access the website of the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS), as well as the official platforms of technology companies.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
