A few days ago, a user under the nickname Tez2, who actively publishes news focused on Rockstar Games on his social networks, reported that the attackers managed to find a critical vulnerability in the security system of the Grand Theft Auto Online project. Thanks to this exploit, hackers are able to make various changes to the parameters of the character of any user in the game session, thereby causing various difficulties for the gamer. For example, attackers can completely reset a game character – remove all the money in the account, lower the level, delete the character itself, or, for example, disconnect the gamer from the session. However, these are just flowers.
Due to a security vulnerability, hackers can lead to the blocking of a user account by their actions. For example, an attacker can intentionally cheat money into a player’s account so that the system automatically recognizes him as a cheater and bans the account. Unfortunately, users reported this problem even a week ago, but to this day there is simply no way to protect your account from the actions of intruders. At the moment, the only way to avoid getting hit is to simply not go into multiplayer sessions, preferring closed sessions or a single storyline. Of course, this is not a panacea, but there is simply no other option.
Naturally, the problem affected only PC gamers, since it is simply impossible to run anything like this on consoles, but security experts are sure that attackers may not limit themselves to problems with user accounts. The fact is that a critical security vulnerability allows hackers to remotely run malicious code on the user’s computer, which in theory can lead to the theft of confidential information, personal data, passwords and logins from various accounts and more. And the most amazing thing is that Rockstar Games is aware of the problem, but so far they cannot solve it.
The situation is reminiscent of the story of Dark Souls, when hackers were able to find a similar vulnerability and it turned out to be so extensive that the publisher Bandai Namco had to completely shut down the video game servers in order to rewrite the security code. Probably, the authors of GTA Online will have to do the same. After all, if deleted accounts or blocking due to intruders can be restored through the technical support form, then the remote execution of malicious code that can steal users’ banking data will lead to numerous lawsuits. Another plus in the karma of game consoles?
Source: Trash Box
Charles Grill is a tech-savvy writer with over 3 years of experience in the field. He writes on a variety of technology-related topics and has a strong focus on the latest advancements in the industry. He is connected with several online news websites and is currently contributing to a technology-focused platform.
