Dreamhack Partners with Akamai Technologies for Dreamhack Summer

Dreamhack has announced a partnership with Akamai Technologies to raise awareness of hacking and data theft in the esports space.

In an official press release from the organization, tournament organizer Dreamhack revealed a partnership today with Akamai Technologies in order to highlight the dangers that hackers pose to esports data security.

The partnership includes Dreamhack utilizing Akamai Technologies in order to “share data security insights and analysis of the threat landscape for the global gaming and esports industry.” Akamai will support Dreamhack in their B2B dealings at Dreamhack Summer. The companies also expect the partnership to continue into other Dreamhack events.

According to Martin McKeay, Security Researcher for Akamai and Editorial Director of the “State of the Internet / Security Report,” the gaming and esports industries are large targets for malicious hackers, saying, “One reason we believe the gaming industry is an attractive target for hackers is because criminals can easily exchange in-game items for profit. Furthermore, gamers are a niche demographic known for spending money, so their financial status is also a tempting target.”

With their partnership, Dreamhack and Akamai seem to be targeting phishing scams and account takeovers, where hackers socially engineer their way into a gamers profile before stealing things of value: skins, items, and even the account itself.

DreamHack Co-CEO Marcus Lindmark also commented on the partnership: “Together, with Akamai, we want to lift these questions around online data security and instead help secure the continued growth and success of esports and gaming in a market where threats are increasing and attackers are getting smarter every day. Akamai is a trusted partner in the space and an ideal partner for DreamHack.”

Dreamhack Summer runs from June 15^th to the 17^th in Jönköping, Sweden.