A group of enterprising engineers has discovered a dangerous Counter-Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) exploit, which can be used to steal Steam users’ personal information through the invite system. Sometimes, however, the community strikes back, as demonstrated by a talented YouTuber who trolls wannabe hackers with fake cheating software.
An ingenious approach to battling cheaters in CS:GO had been put on display by YouTuber ScriptKid who started distributing fake cheating software to teach hackers a lesson. According to ScriptKid, he spent money on advertising the free software, which looks believable and tricks wannabe hackers into downloading it. Obviously, the application doesn’t work the way cheaters expect it to. Instead, the software sabotages their movement and in-game actions. For instance, the trolling program can force cheaters to occasionally drop weapons or jump off buildings. Unfortunately, hackers may now be getting their vengeance thanks to a new discovery.
According to The Secret Club on Twitter, hackers can take advantage of the game’s code through deceptively harmless invites, stealing account information from Steam users. The Secret Club, a non-profit group that specializes in reverse-engineering and researching popular software, demonstrated the exploit in action. Basically, any invite to a round of CS:GO can be utilized to run fraudulent algorithms when launching the game. Interestingly, the engineering group informed Valve of the vulnerability long time ago. Not only hasn’t the company responded in any way or fixed the bug, but also it allegedly tried to silence the researchers who brought the public attention to the exploit. Additionally, it’s not just CS:GO that’s affected but any game built on the Source engine, hypothetically making many other titles vulnerable. The only thing Steam users can do to protect their personal information is to never accept invites to a game from unknown accounts.
Community efforts tend to have positive effects on CS:GO in various ways. For instance, a devoted fan decided to reimagine a handful of popular multiplayer maps using the distinctive visual style of Nuke. The result is mesmerizing, as the author used original Nuke assets to make authentically reworked Cache, Office, and Mirage levels. The original geometry and layout of levels are kept intact while the exterior makes an impression of rearranged Nuke. Navigating such remade maps might be tricky because of the deceiving appearance.
It’s quite surprising that Valve is ignoring reports on the dangerous exploit present in CS:GO and other Source video games. On top of that, the exploit can be extremely harmful as it allows users to steal account information with zero effort while camouflaging itself as an unsuspicious action. Players can be completely unaware of the fact their info was compromised, and such a critical issue should be investigated by Valve without delay.
Source: The Secret Club/Twitter