Windows Gaming Host, Shadow PC, Attacked via Malicious Software

Shadow PC is a Paris-based gaming host with thousands of clients in Europe and the US. Shadow’s service allows video games with high resource consumption to run on old software; this is made possible by Shadow’s ability to open a virtual computer. The virtual computer takes the onus of running games, allowing even incompatible computers to run game software. Shadow PC’s services are cloud-based, which should allow up to 100,000 users to play on their servers simultaneously. However, gamers beware: Shadow’s been the target of a customer credential data breach.

How Did the Attack Occur? 

The attack involved social engineering, malicious software, hijacked cookies, and API injections. According to Shadow’s breach notification, the attack began with an acquaintance of an employee uploading a booby-trapped game to Discord. The employee took to Discord and downloaded the game, not knowing it housed malicious software. The attacker then used this loaded game to steal a permission cookie. From there, the attacker broke into one of Shadow’s SaaS providers by abusing their API. The assailant collected specific information about thousands of customers through the breach. 

What Information was Viewed or Stolen? 

The stolen data allegedly includes the information of 533,600+ Shadow customers. The information is specific, although the exposure extent of each record is unknown. The stolen credentials may include customers’ date of birth, full name, physical address, IP connections, email addresses, the last digits of credit cards, and the corresponding expiration date. Whether the hackers took more details is unknown, but Shadow’s CEO stated they accessed no passwords or sensitive banking. 

How Did Shadow PC Admit to the Breach? 

Not much is public about the timeline of events leading up to and after the breach. The published breach notification states the breach happened at the end of September, with Shadow immediately taking action. Despite their efforts, the attack is presumed successful; a month later, Breach Forums user Depressed posted a marketplace offer claiming to have stolen the information. The post claims Depressed attempted to ransom the information to Shadow, a request the company “ignored.” The data listed in the post is not yet confirmed to be authentic or related to Shadow PC. 

What Will Become of the Stolen Information? 

What happens with the stolen information depends on who buys it and what they need it for. Since some of the details were already available online, it isn’t easy to speculate the future of the data. The threat actors will likely use the data to leverage ransom demands or assist in impersonation schemes or phishing attempts. Either way, Shadow consumers could be negatively impacted by the breach—they must take action quickly. 

What Should Affected Parties Do in the Aftermath of the Breach? 

You must act if you discover the attack exposed your information in the breach. Enable multi-factor authentication on all connected accounts, including banking and credit. Also, consider implementing IP protective measures, like a VPN or masking network. Those with reason to fear for their identity should hire monitoring services accordingly. Additionally, Shadow consumers can completely delete their information from accessibility (like a real computer); this will not freeze the data already exposed, but it could reinforce other reasonable precautions. Take proactive steps now to protect yourself and your information against most data-related issues in the future.