PUBG developers warn people not install new cheating software after arrests of people who make it

Hacks help people perform better in the game – but also steal information from the people using them

Andrew Griffin
Monday 30 April 2018 11:18 EDT
Comments
A still from the online multiplayer game PUBG.
A still from the online multiplayer game PUBG.

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Cheating on PUBG is so widespread that people are getting arrested and having their information stolen, developers have warned.

Playerunknown's Battlegrounds is one of the biggest and most competitive games in the world. But that has led to players using tricks to get ahead, including downloading new software that makes them better at killing other people in the game.

That software is being used to steal information from the huge numbers of people who use it, developers have warned. And the people making it are being arrested.

The full scale of cheating on the game is incredibly vast. Anti-cheating software company BattlEye said in February that it had banned more than a million cheaters in January alone – warning then that "things continue to escalate", suggesting that the numbers will be even higher now.

Now developers have announced that 15 suspects have been arrested "for developing and selling hacking/cheating programs that affect PUBG", according to a Steam post. "It was confirmed that malicious code, including Trojan horse software, was included in some of these programs and was used to steal user information," they wrote.

But even aside from those arrests, players cheating on PUBG are exposing themselves and their computers to danger. The software is being used to install viruses on the users' computer – and then extract information from them.

The warning came as part of a new update to Steam posted by PUBG Corp, the developers of the game.

As you all now know, we’ve been doing everything possible to root out cheating from PUBG," they said. "The ultimate goal is to create an environment for players that’s completely safe from hackers and cheaters.

"We take cheating extremely seriously. Developing, selling, promoting, or using unauthorized hacking/cheating programs isn’t just unfair for others playing PUBG—in many places, it’s also against the law."

Developers said that they are working on new ways of detecting those cheaters and kicking them off the game.

"We’ve upgraded our security measures, improved our anti-cheat solutions, and recently even added a new anti-cheat solution on top of all that," the Steam post continued. "In the meantime, we’ve also been continuously gathering information on hack developers (and sellers) and have been working extensively with multiple partners and judicial authorities to bring these people to justice."

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in