The world of competitive gaming was rocked recently when high-profile Apex Legends streamers experienced live hacks during the North American finals of the Apex Legends Global Series (ALGS).
The shocking incident has cast a spotlight on the effectiveness of anti-cheat systems and has players questioning the security of the popular battle royale game.
The players did not understand what was happening and the match was abruptly cancelled.
How did Apex Legends ALGS get hacked?
During the critical tournament, players found themselves suddenly confronted with blatant cheating tools appearing on their screens.
In one instance, a Genburten was given a clear advantage by a hack revealing the locations of all enemies.
MULTI BILLION DOLLAR ESPORT BTWW pic.twitter.com/e1B9lfDt3C
— DZ_Genburten (@Genburten) March 18, 2024
Another player, TSM ImperialHal, was plagued by an aimbot that automatically locked onto opponents.
Tournament organizers were forced to postpone the event until the source of the hacks could be addressed. Apex Legends Esports have announced the decision with the following post on X:
Due to the competitive integrity of this series being compromised, we have made the decision to postpone the NA finals at this time.
We will share more information soon.— Apex Legends Esports (@PlayApexEsports) March 18, 2024
Neither Respawn Entertainment, creators of Apex Legends, nor EA have offered a timeframe for when the finals might restart. Additionally, there’s no clear answer as to whether this particular hack poses a broader danger to the Apex Legends player base.
An official spokesperson for Apex Legends Esports vaguely promised that further updates would be shared “soon”.
While fans and players anxiously hold their breath, a statement allegedly representing Easy Anti-Cheat and Epic Online Services has surfaced. These accounts firmly express “…confidence that there is no RCE vulnerability within EAC being exploited.”
Easy Anti-Cheat says no fault was found
Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC), the anti-cheat system utilized by Apex Legends, quickly issued a statement denying any RCE vulnerability within their system.
The company stated, “After a thorough investigation, we have concluded that there is no RCE vulnerability within EAC”.
We have investigated recent reports of a potential RCE issue within Easy Anti-Cheat. At this time – we are confident that there is no RCE vulnerability within EAC being exploited. We will continue to work closely with our partners for any follow up support needed
— Easy Anti-Cheat (@TeddyEAC) March 18, 2024
They theorize that the hackers likely utilized previously leaked source code or exploited another vulnerability outside of the EAC software itself.
Genburten was shocked
During a match, an aimbot interface materialized unbidden on Genburten’s screen, accompanied by a chat message repeatedly proclaiming “Apex hacking global series by Destroyer2009 & R4ndom”.
Genburten expressed his shock at losing control of the game, noticing he could now see opponents through walls, and wisely exited the compromised match.
The pseudonym “Destroyer2009” is already infamous, suspected of similar disruption attempts against Apex Legends players in the past, but the name “R4ndom” is someone completely new.
Who is to blame?
Placing blame on a single entity is likely too simplistic.
There’s potential shared responsibility between the developers (ensuring a secure game environment) and the anti-cheat provider (working to block exploits). The only truly guilty parties are the hackers themselves.
Update (3/20):
Apex Legends Esports account has posted the following on X:
We are still actively working with our partners at EA and Respawn and remain committed to ensuring the security and competitive integrity of Apex Legends tournaments.
At this time, we do not anticipate any changes to the Split 1 Playoffs.
We will have more information to share… https://t.co/qXJoKZvX4N— Apex Legends Esports (@PlayApexEsports) March 20, 2024
Update (3/22):
The Challenger Circuit schedule has been adjusted.
Here are the latest updates for upcoming ALGS competitions:
We’ve adjusted the Challenger Circuit schedule. Now Challenger Circuit #3 will be moved to April 6-8 and Challenger Circuit #4 will be pushed to April 13-15.
The Pro League Qualifiers will remain on April 19-21.
We…
— Apex Legends Esports (@PlayApexEsports) March 22, 2024
Featured image credit: Apex Legends/EA Games.
