That PS5 emulator you found on GitHub could actually be malware designed

For years and years, emulators have been one of the most common ways for players to access older video games and consoles on PC. ROMs exist for games dating back to the industry’s earliest days, and you can find console emulators to play them all over the Internet. All it takes is a simple download and the license for the console or game you want to emulate.

However, because most developers and console producers don’t officially support emulators, they can be unsafe for users to download. While most popular emulators today are protected, some are designed specifically to install malware on your PC. It was recently discovered that a few PlayStation 5 emulators available on GitHub contain all sorts of malware that can steal your critical passwords.

New PS5 emulators discovered to contain dangerous malware

These malware-spreading emulators for the PlayStation 5 were originally discovered and brought into the public eye by employees at NordVPN. Specifically, researchers on NordVPN’s Threat Intelligence team found that several PS5 emulators circulating on GitHub contain malware designed to steal passwords and other data from a user’s PC.

Engadget reported on the development and received a statement from NordVPN’s CTO, who says emulator fans are prime targets for malware developers. “Emulation fans are a perfect target. They are used to downloading experimental software from GitHub and running unsigned files, so nothing about this feels suspicious. But this is not an emulator. It steals your data, hides from your antivirus, and erases its own tracks before you notice anything is wrong,” says CTO Marijus Briedis.

On the surface, these hacked emulators seem completely legitimate and indistinguishable from other real PS5 emulators you can download on GitHub or other sites. However, once you download them, the malware in the emulator activates and deploys something called an “Infostealer.” This tool is designed to steal your personal data, including passwords and other critical information stored on your PC.

Right now, we don’t have links to the hacked emulators, but the malware developers are claiming to be the “Kyttyps5” and “AnyPS5” emulators. So, to be safe, make sure you’re absolutely sure about the PS5 emulator you choose to download. For now, you’ll likely want to avoid any PS5 emulator, as it’s unclearhow widespread this issue is, especially in the GitHub community.

This development comes on the heels of other PS5 news, including more hacks that let players access Steam games on the console.