The world of online shooters can be a bit intense, and it's unfortunate that cheaters and even regular players sometimes get banned for their behavior.
Recently, hackers found a way to manipulate Call of Duty's anti-cheating system, resulting in innocent players getting banned after receiving a single line of text in a direct message. Yes, just one message from a stranger could lead to a permanent account suspension.
According to The Verge, hackers who were selling cheats for Call of Duty: Modern Warfare III and Call of Duty: Warzone openly discussed their exploit on Twitter. They revealed that the Ricochet anti-cheat system would scan player files for specific text, such as "trigger bot," and if someone received a message containing those words, their account would be banned.
The hackers claimed that they used this method to ban "several thousand" players, including popular streamers who were banned while playing live after receiving these messages.
For those unfamiliar, a "triggerbot" is a cheating tool that automatically fires your weapon when it detects an enemy in your sights. It's a more discreet form of an "aimbot" and can provide a significant advantage in competitive play. Using such tools is, understandably, a violation of the rules in pretty much any online multiplayer game.
Activision's official Call of Duty Updates Twitter account recently announced that the Ricochet exploit has been successfully addressed and that the "small number of legitimate player accounts" that were mistakenly banned have now been reinstated.
Considering the massive player base of the Call of Duty games, a few thousand bans would still be a relatively small figure. Policing these online systems is an incredibly challenging task without the assistance of automation, and it's unfortunately inevitable that cheaters will always attempt to exploit them on a fairly regular basis.
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