Update (March 18 at 8:00 am PT/3:00 pm GMT): We have added the most recent comments from the Easy Anti Cheat company.
The North American regional finals for the Apex Legends Global Series were abruptly interrupted by a hacker attack this past Sunday.
During game 3 of the final series, several pro players reported that cheats, such as aimbots and wallhacks, were being added to their games. One was ImperialHal from TSM, who, in the following clip, we can hear shouting to his teammates that he had an aimbot after landing an improbable shot at a distance:
So i was given Aimbot but it was just me playing on Controller all good guys. Nerf controller! pic.twitter.com/2ztHtoOnRB
— TSM ImperialHal (@ImperialHal) March 18, 2024
Genburten was another pro player who got hacked mid-game. He later posted a clip where we can see the exact moment a wallhack was implemented into his game, allowing him to see all of the enemy player's positions.
MULTI BILLION DOLLAR ESPORT BTWW pic.twitter.com/e1B9lfDt3C
— DZ_Genburten (@Genburten) March 18, 2024
Shortly after this game, the regional finals were canceled, and an announcement was posted on the official ALGS account on X (formerly Twitter) stating that this decision was made "due to the competitive integrity of this series being compromised."
ImperialHal and most players affected by this attack received a ban, most likely because the anti-cheat system automatically detected the hacks implemented.
As reported by the AntiCheatPD account, hackers likely took advantage of a Remote Code Execution vulnerability (also known as RCE exploit) that allowed them to run any command on the target's computer and install hacks without the player's consent. It is unclear if this exploit is present in the game itself or the Easy Anti-Cheat software used in every Electronic Arts title with multiplayer capabilities.
Those who know about such attacks are warning gamers to avoid—and even uninstall—all EA games, as they could be leaving their systems vulnerable to such intrusions. The website SteamDB even posted a list of all the games on Steam that use the Easy Anti-Cheat software.
A few hours after the incident, the Easy Anti-Cheat company claimed through a post on X that "there is no REC vulnerability within EAC being exploited."
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
At this point, only a statement from EA themselves will make things clear.
Who is the hacker Destroyer2009?
After Genburten was hacked, his account sent the following message to the match's global text chat: "Apex hacking global series by Destroyer2009 & R4ndom."
Although R4ndom's identity remains a mystery, Destroyer2009 is a notorious hacker of Apex Legends. Just over a month ago, the hacker joined ImperialHal's ranked game and sent him an army of bots.
1v30 plus aimbotter Ranked :) pic.twitter.com/lZk27quRg2
— TSM ImperialHal (@ImperialHal) February 8, 2024
Hal is not the only one to be targetted, as the hacker has also appeared in other pro players' online matches. Destroyer2009 also fancies themselves a bit of a Robin Hood figure, as they have 'gifted' Mande 4000 packs to unsuspecting players.
Why they are choosing to do this isn't known. Having said that, it doesn't appear to be for monetary gain but rather to cause maximum chaos, and what better target than the game's most prestigious tournament?
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