Respawn Entertainment was forced to shut down the Apex Legends Global Series finals for the North American region mid-game after an unfortunate hacking event that gave some pro players abnormal abilities. It is not clear how the hackers gained access to a private lobby for the esports final or how widespread the issue may be.
However, the Anti-Cheat Police Department, a group that specializes in gathering intelligence on cheats to detect and disrupt cheating vendors, later suggested that the hackers used the RCE exploit.
Remote Code Execution (RCE) is an attack that can be triggered remotely to execute malicious code on a computer. The impact can range from malware execution to an attacker gaining full control over the compromised computer.
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Some more information on the situation pic.twitter.com/J0KGWBcjyi
— Anti-Cheat Police Department 🕵️ (@AntiCheatPD) March 18, 2024
The Anti-Cheat Police Department shared evidence that suggests RCE was involved. Also, the group advised everyone who might have participated in the Apex Legends Global Series tournament to take immediate action.
“Attention to all players who participated in the ALGS tournament, I strongly recommend that you take immediate measures to protect your personal information,” wrote the Anti-Cheat Police Department on X. “It is advisable that you change your Discord passwords and ensure that your emails are secure. also enable MFA for all your accounts if you have not done it yet.”
“Perform a clean OS reinstall as soon as possible. Do not take any chances with your personal information, your PC may have been exposed to a rootkit or other malicious software that could cause further damage.”
PSA: There is currently an RCE exploit being abused in @PlayApex. It is unsure whether it comes from the game or the actual anti-cheat (@TeddyEAC ). I would advise against playing any games protected by EAC or any EA titles once they have fixed this or can comment.
Currently,…
— Anti-Cheat Police Department 🕵️ (@AntiCheatPD) March 18, 2024
A message was later shared on the Apex Legends Esports account confirming that the Apex Legends Global Series finals for the North American region has been postponed and that more information will be shared soon.
Due to the competitive integrity of this series being compromised, we have made the decision to postpone the NA finals at this time.
We will share more information soon.— Apex Legends Esports (@PlayApexEsports) March 18, 2024
In the comment section of the announcement, people could not hide their disgust and wondered how a billion-dollar company could allow this to happen. One comment called out a streamer and asked that they should be investigated.
@WhosBreezyUK told me he had a method to take over pro players clients a few days ago . . . investigate him if possible
— Hac1 (@DonHaci) March 18, 2024
Apex Legends Global Series finals event is a new level of cheating
While cheating has always been a problem with online multiplayer games, hacking an esports final is a level that many esports fans have never seen before. Cheaters usually give themselves abilities like auto aim and the ability to see through walls.
However, giving genuine players such abilities in the middle of the Apex Legends Global Series finals was clearly intended to ruin the event. According to reports, one of the players was banned before the event was shut down.
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The hackers have now given 2 Apex Legends pro players cheats in the middle of an ALGS match.
ImperialHal has now also been hacked and the hacker forcibly enabled aimbot on his account mid game.
Have never seen something like this in esports. pic.twitter.com/VY30Q21Dok
— ModernWarzone (@ModernWarzone) March 18, 2024
Clips of the Apex Legends Global Series finals showing players being hacked have spread on social media. In one of the clips, pro player DZ_Genburten’s chat suddenly stated saying, “Apex hacking global series by Destroyer2009 & R4ndom”.
Soon after, DZ_Genburten realized that he could see the location of every player in the game, even those hiding behind walls. “I’m getting hacked,” he said twice before raising his hands to show that it wasn’t his doing.
“Can you play?” another player asked.
“Yeah,” he responded, “but it’s cheating. I can see everyone”. He eventually quit the game, visibly upset.
NO WAY @Genburten getting hacked mid algs game pic.twitter.com/PaVOjmnEGs
— Apryze🌹 (@Apryze_) March 18, 2024
Apex Legends Global Series Year 4 Split 1 Playoffs will start on May 2, 2024, at the Galen Center in Los Angeles. It is the first LAN event for the year and tickets will go on sale this Friday. The tournament is expected to feature 40 teams across 6 regions.
Apex Legends Global Series finals raises questions about cheating in games
The unfortunate event at the Apex Legends Global Series finals has raised questions about both cheating in online games and the anti-cheat mechanisms often implemented in the game. Some players have criticized the anti-cheat system for unjustly kicking them out.
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However, the bigger question is about the integrity of eSports in general. The Apex Legends Global Series finals event took place on a broader scale which made it easy for people to spot. However, it is hard to tell if players have cheated their way to victory in previous eSports events.
This has the potential to dampen the spirit of honest eSports players who may be forced to ask questions in the future when they lose matches. It will take a lot to restore the confidence of players in eSports events.
