PUBG Cheat: Chinese police arrest 15 suspects and fine over $5 million USD
Last week, PUBG Corporation, the developer behind the popular online battle royale game, “PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds” (PUBG), confirmed in an announcement made through the game’s Steam page that 15 suspects were arrested in China for allegedly creating and selling hacks for the PUBG game.
According to the Steam post, the suspects not only illegally affected PUBG with the programs but also used Trojan horse software. “Earlier this month, on April 25th, 15 suspects were arrested for developing and selling hacking/cheating programs that affect PUBG,” the announcement said. “It was confirmed that malicious code, including Trojan horse software, was included in some of these programs and was used to steal user information.”
The game’s developer revealed that it has been working with the local Chinese authorities to arrest and fine the makers of PUBG hack programs.
“As you all now know, we’ve been doing everything possible to root out cheating from PUBG,” the Steam post reads. “The ultimate goal is to create an environment for players that’s completely safe from hackers and cheaters.”
The PUBG team provided the following information on the case that was translated by the local authorities:
“15 major suspects including “OMG”, “FL”, “??”, “??” and “??” were arrested for developing hack programs, hosting marketplaces for hack programs, and brokering transactions. Currently the suspects have been fined approximately 30mil RNB ($5.1mil USD). Other suspects related to this case are still being investigated.
“Some hack programs that are being distributed through the internet includes a Huigezi Trojan horse*(Chinese backdoor) virus. It was proven that hack developers used this virus to control users’ PC, scan their data, and extract information illegally.”
The post also added, “The longstanding rumor that hacking/cheating programs extract information from users’ PCs has been confirmed to be true. Using illegal programs not only disrupts others, but can end up with you handing over your personal information.
Last December, anti-cheat company BattlEye had tweeted that it had banned over 1.5 million accounts until then and over a million more in January alone. “Unfortunately, things continue to escalate,” it said.
We have banned over 1,044,000 PUBG cheaters in January alone, unfortunately things continue to escalate.
— BattlEye (@TheBattlEye) February 4, 2018
Hacking is a big issue for PUBG and it is taken “extremely seriously,” the post read. It also reminded players that developing, selling, promoting, or using unauthorized hacking/cheating programs is not only unfair for others playing PUBG but also against the law. It said that the efforts between PUBG Corp. and the proper authorities to root out cheating from PUBG will continue.
“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. 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,” the post added.
“We’ll continue to crack down on hacking/cheating programs (and their creators) until our players are free to battle it out in a totally fair environment.”
