Discord-based infostealing campaign attacks gamers

A sophisticated Discord-based infostealing campaign is currently targeting the online gaming community.

Based on reports, the attackers exploited the popular communication platform Discord and fake download sites to distribute information-stealing malware. This operation resulted in a cloud gaming company warning its users about the malicious operation.

 

This Discord-based infostealing campaign has initially compromised the gaming influencers from France.

 

The Discord-based infostealing campaign operators strategically compromised the accounts of French gaming influencers by exploiting their credibility to disseminate enticing messages.

These messages promise exclusive access to a seemingly harmless and legitimate game. In addition, the threat actors distributed these messages through Discord channels and private messages, each containing a link. Consequently, once the recipients click the link, they unknowingly initiate the download of a malicious file or are redirected to a fraudulent website.

In addition, the malicious operation utilised the fake websites and activated connections to ipinfo[.]io, which allowed the threat actors to extract the victims’ IP addresses. Users will unintentionally initiate info-stealing malware once they click the download button on the fake website. The attack conceals the malware within a password-protected rar archive, a zip file, or an executable file.

Further investigations also showed the involvement of multiple info-stealer strains, such as BBy Stealer, Nova Sentinel, Doenerium, and Epsilon Stealer. There is ongoing analysis on BBy Stealer and Nova Sentinel, but researchers discovered that Doenerium and Epsilon Stealer are also openly accessible on GitHub and Telegram.

Researchers noted that the Nova Sentinel malware could steal Discord information, crypto wallets, sensitive browser data, and even capture screenshots, while French-speaking users actively promote the latter on Telegram.

This new incident is part of malicious activities where hackers and scammers increasingly target gamers. The gaming community should be cautious in downloading software from unknown sources. Gamers should also be critical when encountering enticing offers, fake notifications, or messages, as cybercriminals could employ tactics to trick them into downloading harmful files.

Proper cybersecurity awareness is imperative as the gaming community continues to grow significantly. Gamers should stay vigilant and adopt the best practices, such as verifying the legitimacy of messages and only downloading software from reputable sources.