In summary:
- PCWorld reports that Duet Night Abyss game launcher was compromised with ‘Umbral Stealer’ keylogger spyware targeting the standalone updater system.
- The hack affects a game with one million registrations, putting player data at serious risk of identity theft despite developer mitigation efforts.
- Developers offered in-game compensation for the security breach, highlighting the growing need for robust antivirus protection among PC gamers.
If you’re a dedicated player of Duet Night Abyss, you might be wondering why your PC’s antivirus blew up following the game’s latest update a couple of nights ago. And if your antivirus didn’t blow up… then maybe it’s time for a scan. The developers have confirmed that the game’s launcher was hacked to deliver keylogger spyware.
On March 18th, players on a Duet Night Abyss subreddit posted Windows Defender logs showing that the “Umbral Stealer” trojan had been detected following the game’s latest update. Developers confirmed the “malicious attack,” posting a log of their initial alerts and the resolution, as well as mitigation steps going forward.
At the end of the statement, the development team said that the game would be sending out “Commission Manual: Volume III*5, Prismatic Hourglass*10,” which Kotaku reports is equivalent to 10 random skins for the characters. Which is nice, I suppose, but won’t be much comfort to someone who’s had their identity stolen because a keylogger got their bank account login credentials.
Duet Night Abyss is a free-to-play gacha game in the same vein as Genshin Impact, available on Windows, Android, and iOS. I hadn’t heard of it before now, but apparently it’s racked up a million registrations since launching late last year. And apparently this isn’t the first time it’s been hacked. A hacker apparently got into the update system a few weeks ago and issued a far less malicious attack, simply alerting users to the developer Pan Games’ outdated security systems, along with a few more editorial comments.
Duet Night Abyss is available to download and play via Steam, but the attack appears to have targeted the game’s standalone updater and launcher. Still, Steam itself has become an increasingly juicy target where PC gamers log in and download games by the millions. Free-to-play and early access games are apparently the most likely to be infected.
Tip: If your PC is still unprotected without proper antivirus measures, you should install something while you can. Check out our picks for the best free Windows antivirus apps and best paid antivirus for Windows.
Author: Michael Crider, Staff Writer, PCWorld
Michael is a 15-year veteran of technology journalism, covering everything from Apple to ZTE. On PCWorld he's the resident keyboard nut, always using a new one for a review and building a new mechanical board or expanding his desktop "battlestation" in his off hours. Michael's previous bylines include Android Police, Digital Trends, Wired, Lifehacker, and How-To Geek, and he's covered events like CES and Mobile World Congress live. Michael lives in Pennsylvania where he's always looking forward to his next kayaking trip.