Self-Spreading Malware Targets Lobbies of Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009)

Activision has decided to shut down the multiplayer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) to investigate user reports that some type of malware, likely a trojan, has been spreading online via hacked lobbies.

Gaming is among the industries most targeted by this kind of attack because of its large user base. With hundreds of millions of PC users worldwide, it’s a given that attackers will find a way to compromise some players. And since Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) was and remains a very popular game, hackers have found a way to take advantage.

Activision, the game publisher, saw that this old game still retains the interest of many people, so it decided to revive the multiplayer, which includes official servers. According to a TechCrunch report, Steam users reported malware spreading through likely hacked lobbies soon after the multiplayer went live.

The only comment made by Activision, so far at least, was through company spokesperson Neil Wood, who pointed to a post on X (formerly Twitter). “Multiplayer for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) on Steam was brought offline while we investigate reports of an issue,” wrote Activision.

There’s no mention of the malware, but since the trojan seems to spread by itself, the multiplayer was likely taken down to fix the problem. When hackers find a way to execute commands on peoples’ PC via a commercial product, it’s not a good day for any company.

Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 (2009) multiplayer remains down for the time being, but it’s clear that not everyone knows about the danger lurking in hacked lobbies because users keep asking on Steam why the game is not working.

It’s a good idea always to run a security solution in the background, such as Bitdefender Total Security, which has an extremely low hardware footprint and dedicated gaming mode.