Description

The Apex Legends esports tournament faced a temporary shutdown after two professional players, Noyan Ozkose and Phillip Dosen, were unexpectedly equipped with cheats during separate matches. Ozkose, from Dark Zero, gained the ability to see opponents through walls, while Dosen, representing TSM, was granted an "aimbot" feature, automatically targeting opponents. Despite ImperialHal's ban by the game itself, he remained in the server until organizers intervened. The community suspects the attacker exploited an unpatched remote code execution (RCE) vulnerability in Apex Legends. Speculation surrounds the source of the vulnerability, with debate focusing on the game client, Easy Anti-Cheat system, or Valve's Source engine. However, official statements from Respawn Entertainment or Electronic Arts (EA) have not provided technical details. Consequently, the Apex Legends Esports account announced the postponement of the NA finals to uphold competitive integrity. The incident highlights the rarity of outside interference disrupting esports events, reminiscent of DDoS attacks in DOTA 2 and League of Legends in 2015. While cheating typically stems from players using software for an edge, this incident underscores broader security concerns in professional gaming. Proactive measures against cheats, ransomware, and information theft remain paramount to safeguard the integrity of esports competitions.