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Minecraft Cheaters Strike to Steal Accounts, instead Download Ransomware

Home News Survival Minecraft Minecraft cheaters attempt to snatch accounts, instead download ransomware



By Tyler Colp published 1 November 21



Malware is manipulating Japanese Minecraft players to steal their accounts.



According to cybersecurity firm Fortinet the Japanese Minecraft cheaters are getting instant reward in the form of karma. Ransomware that wipes out data and disguises itself as a list containing stolen Minecraft accounts is being targeted at wannabe hackers.



The list is theoretically attractive to players who want to conceal their identity to keep their main accounts safe from bans, most obviously to avoid being caught cheating or griefing and other bad behavior. Fortinet has released details on the ransomware attack. However, the nature of the attack is not clear.



Fortinet states that ransomware temporarily corrupts files smaller than 2 MB until the victim pays 2,000 Yuan (roughly $17) to restore the files. But it doesn't give the victims a chance to save everything. The executable can be opened and any files larger than 2MB or with different extensions (a list of extensions is available on the Fortinet's website) will be filled with random bytes which permanently erase the files. It also deletes all Windows backup copies of the files, meaning you can't just restore them. It also puts an inscription for ransom on the wallpaper. The only thing it doesn't do is access any of your data. It's so thoughtful.



The attacker wants prepaid cards for online shopping games, music, mobile phones and streaming services for payment. The best bit is that, according to Fortinet the ransom note says that the attacker is "available only on Saturdays and apologises for any inconvenience caused." Even if the victim does pay the fee, only the files that are less than 2 MB can be restored.



Ransomware is a variant on the Chaos ransomware, which has been around since June. Other variants of Chaos ransomware have been found to infect all hard drives and disable Windows recovery mode completely.



It doesn't matter if you're trying cheating in Minecraft or not downloading executables from untrusted sources is not a good idea. (But do not try to cheat at Minecraft, either.)



Tyler covered games gaming, games culture, and hardware for more than a decade prior to joining PC Gamer in the role of Associate Editor. ALUSKY.XYZ He's done in-depth reporting on communities and games as well as criticism for sites such as Polygon, Wired, and Waypoint. He is fascinated by the weird and the amazing when it comes to gaming and loves looking for stories and talking with the people involved. Tyler loves to dive into games like Final Fantasy 14 and Overwatch to find out what makes them tick and then deciding the bits worth discussing. His aim is to talk about games as they are: broken and beautiful, bizarre and bizarre.


Homepage: https://alusky.xyz/