Hacker exploits flaw to ban thousands from Call of Duty

In a significant breach of gaming integrity, a hacker known as Vizor exploited a flaw in the Ricochet anti-cheat system developed by Activision. This incident primarily occurred within the Call of Duty gaming community and was revealed through a conversation with TechCrunch. Like many video game companies, Activision has faced ongoing challenges with cheats and hacks, leading to investments in advanced cybersecurity measures to protect fair gameplay. Ricochet, released in 2021, was designed to run at the kernel level to enhance its anti-cheat capabilities by detecting signatures that flag potential cheaters. However, Vizor discovered that they could send messages containing specific hardcoded strings that were used by Ricochet, such as terms related to cheating, to ban players. Over several months, they built a script to automate the process, allowing them to continuously target and ban random players, thereby misusing the system with relative ease. This exploit was successful enough that the hacker commented on the capability to frame legitimate players as cheaters. The scale of these actions reportedly affected thousands of accounts, with Activision's anti-cheat team oblivious to the misuse of their technology at that time. Interestingly, while Vizor focused on random players, they also targeted well-known gamers. Some of these individuals faced bans that were later reversed once the issue was identified and fixed by Activision. This misuse of the system drew criticism from insiders and gaming enthusiasts alike, as it highlighted vulnerabilities in the targeted anti-cheat methods that should have caught real cheaters rather than innocent players. As the story unfolds, Vizor’s actions serve as a reminder of the ongoing battle between game developers and those who seek to exploit their systems. Companies continue to enhance their security measures, yet as evidenced by this incident, vulnerabilities remain. Players are urged to be aware of the potential for abuse within the systems designed to protect them, and the entire gaming community must advocate for stronger, better-protected environments for fair play.