Furthermore, an attacker can target any player, even if they are not in the same multiplayer lobby. Over the last few days, several GTA Online players shared their experiences with the exploit on the Rockstar Games support forum. Several people familiar with the exploit warned players to stay away from the game until Rockstar Games released a security patch. On Monday, Rockstar Games’ customer support account told users that the company was aware of the exploit and requested that affected users reach out. “We are aware of potential new exploits in GTA Online for PC, which we aim to resolve in an upcoming planned security-related Title Update,” Rockstar Support tweeted.
What We Know About the GTA Online Remote Exploit
The developer of the North Online GTA cheat mod abused the vulnerability in the game client to create remote cheats, which were released as part of an update on Jan. 20, 2023. This includes the ability to corrupt accounts, ban accounts, and steal or remove player funds. However, shortly after, chaos ensued as attackers began targeting other online players. The developer removed the abusive features the following day, Jan. 21, and the North Online GTA cheat changelog contained the following text. “Removed badsport/corrupt account for players (bad judgement on my part for adding this public).” “Removed take money from player (bad judgement on my part for adding this public).” Several players, though, were already affected by the time of removal. Self-proclaimed Rock Star Games monitor Tez2 urged players to avoid playing without a firewall rule, or even altogether.
Attackers Can Steal Files From Victim’s PCs
To make matters worse, attackers can exploit the vulnerability to access a victim’s PC. Twitter user Speyder, the developer of GTA firewall tool Guardian, told his followers that while the tool works against the exploit, any incorrect steps in setup would leave them and their devices vulnerable. “In an attempt to dissuade users from going Online with a method of Guardian that wouldn’t protect them, I am temporarily hiding access to builds,” Speyder tweeted. “This exploit is so serious that one wrong setting or action could result in the loss of your account or even your PC files.” Cybercriminals view video games as lucrative targets and frequently launch a variety of scams and cyber campaigns against players. Earlier this month, malicious actors targeted ‘The Last of Us’ players with malware and phishing attacks in the wake of its HBO television adaptation release. Popular video game developer Riot Games was the victim of a cyber breach just a few days ago. We recommend reading up more about some of the most popular games which have malware problems. If you’re interested in improving your security with an antivirus program, check out our list of the best antivirus for gaming in 2023.
