Hackers have infected players of the 2009 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with a worm that spreads automatically in online lobbies. The malware is a self-replicating program that can spread from one player to another without the victim’s knowledge.
It is unclear why the hackers are spreading this malware, but it could be used to steal personal information or install other malicious software on players’ computers. Activision, the publisher of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, has taken the game offline while it investigates the issue.
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Hackers Infect Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 Players with Worm
Hackers are targeting players of an old Call of Duty Modern game by spreading a harmful program that can automatically infect others when they play together online. This information comes from two separate examinations of the malicious software.
Around June 26th, a person using a forum for the gaming platform Steam warned fellow players of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 about hackers who were using manipulated game lobbies to carry out attacks.
They suggested that others should use an antivirus program to protect themselves. It seems that the specific malicious software they were talking about is also listed on an online repository called VirusTotal, which tracks malware.
Malware Spreads Through Online Lobbies
Another player who looked into this issue stated on the same forum that the malicious software behaves like a worm, which is a type of malware that can spread itself. They came to this conclusion by studying certain pieces of text within the malicious software’s code. Additionally, an insider from the gaming industry, who wished to stay anonymous due to professional reasons, confirmed that the mentioned strings of text are indeed present in the malware’s code, indicating that it’s a worm-type infection.
Activision Takes Game Offline to Investigate
An Activision representative named Neil Wood mentioned a tweet from the company’s official Call of Duty Modern updates Twitter account. The tweet addressed a problem where the multiplayer mode of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (released in 2009) on Steam was taken offline. They are investigating reports about an issue related to the game.
Worm Could Steal Personal Information
The malware being discussed is a type of malicious software that seems to spread automatically among players in the game’s online lobbies. This indicates that the hackers have discovered and are taking advantage of vulnerabilities or flaws in the game’s system to execute harmful code on other players’ computers.
Small but Dedicated Player Base Still Active
Although Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released back in 2009 by the big gaming company Activision, it still has a small group of players who play it online. A website that monitors the number of players in online games showed that around 600 people were playing this game when this information was being written.
Hackers are infecting players of the 2009 game Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 with a worm that spreads automatically in online lobbies. The malware is a self-replicating program that can spread from one player to another without the victim’s knowledge.
It is unclear why the hackers are spreading this malware, but it could be used to steal personal information or install other malicious software on players’ computers. Activision, the publisher of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2, has taken the game offline while it investigates the issue.
