The video game industry is the largest category within the entertainment industry, generating hundreds of billions of dollars in revenue annually. Estimates put the video game industry at five to ten times the box office revenue of the movie industry.

More than half of Gen X, Gen Y and Gen Z play video games. In fact, an astonishing 81% of Gen Z plays video games.

But just exactly how private is gaming?

According to one former FBI agent, in 2019, there were approximately 1,000 swatting cases in the United States. Although swatting is a federal crime, punishable by up to life in prison, the problem continues to persist.

And even if you're not at risk for a swatting incident, there is also the threat of doxxing.

So how do you protect your privacy while participating in online gaming?

It's always a good idea to start with a VPN. A VPN, or virtual private network, allows you to access the internet through a tunnel that hides your actual IP address. Bad actors can combine your IP address with other information discoverable online to identify where you live.

In this episode of Privacy Files, we kick off our inaugural episode of "MySudo Monday" by giving you several tips for better protecting your personal data, which will ultimately keep you safe. Included in these tips is advice for leveraging the privacy app MySudo for ensuring you're breaking the link between your personal data and the outside world. "MySudo Monday" is a monthly series where we highlight a popular use case for MySudo.

Links Referenced:

https://petapixel.com/2022/12/22/hackers-used-amazon-ring-cameras-to-livestream-swatting-attacks/

https://news.abplive.com/gaming/why-data-privacy-is-top-priority-for-the-online-gaming-industry-1561524

https://protonvpn.com/blog/online-gaming-privacy/

https://news.abplive.com/gaming/why-data-privacy-is-top-priority-for-the-online-gaming-industry-1561524

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/12/19/business/ftc-epic-games-settlement.html

https://www.cloudflare.com/learning/security/glossary/what-is-swatting/

https://www.statista.com/outlook/dmo/digital-media/video-games/worldwide

OUR SPONSORS:

Anonyome Labs - Makers of MySudo and Sudo Platform. Take back control of your personal data. www.anonyome.com

MySudo - The world's only all-in-one privacy app. Communicate and transact securely and privately. Talk, text, email, browse, shop and pay, all from one app. Stay private. www.mysudo.com

Sudo Platform - The cloud-based platform companies turn to for seamlessly integrating privacy solutions into their software. Easy-to-use SDKs and APIs for building out your own branded customer apps like password managers, virtual cards, private browsing, identity wallets (decentralized identity), and secure, encrypted communications (e.g., encrypted voice, video, email and messaging). www.sudoplatform.com