According to Nielsen in the US, online gaming accounts for 10.2% of time spent on the Web,  says Sergey Golovanov, Malware Expert at Kaspersky Lab.

“Such a statistic certainly provides proof to the fact the online gaming is a growing industry that, in our experience, turns over impressive revenues each year.

The world of online gaming moves very quickly across countries each year new and exciting games are released and the army of players continues to develop.

And as with any online action that shows high activity and growth, the online gaming world has become an attractive one to cybercriminals evident by the recent hack of a popular gaming console which proved detrimental.”

In its May 2011 spam report, Kaspersky reported that 4.67% of all phishing emails that occurred were intended to steal passwords for the popular free online game RuneScape.

As a result, this platform made its debut in the top 10, straight in at number 3 way ahead of Warcraft which is the most popular online game in the world.

And this is just one example.

Kaspersky Lab has noticed that online games nowadays are of more interest to cybercriminals than social networking sites such as Facebook which is certainly a startling realisation that the company emphasises requires action.

“Despite this, often consumed by the excitement of the game itself, many online gamers do not realise the crucial importance of effective security around gaming.

And it is with this exact premise in mind that Kaspersky Lab continues to support the rAge expo as it is a well respected technology event that provides the perfect platform to engage.

With gamers to educate and offer the insight needed to ensure a safe and uninterrupted gaming experience,” says Golovanov.

“Security education across industries remains a key focus for Kaspersky Lab. We have identified the gaming industry as a sector that remains fruitful among cybercriminals and are proud to be a part of this event.

As it allows us the opportunity to educate and make an important and beneficial difference to the world of online gaming,” concludes Golovanov.