To fight against cheating in its games, Electronic Arts presents its own anti-cheat system for PC.
Following in the footsteps of Riot Games and Activision-Blizzard in particular, this system designed by the American giant will also operate directly on the kernel. Its first draft will be deployed on FIFA 23 end of September.
A new kernel-based anti-cheat system
Soberly called “Electronic Arts Anti-Cheat” (EAAC), this system is in line with the protections already deployed on Valorant by Riot Games or call of duty with Ricochet, owned by Activision-Blizzard. Designed internally by the developers of the American giant, EAAC is therefore a system based on the PC kernel aimed at protecting Electronic Arts games against cheating and sabotage within them.
Elise Murphy, EA’s Chief Security and Anti-Cheat Director, justified the move as follows: Developers of cheat solutions on PC increasingly embed their products in the kernel. So we need a system that can take them on their own turf. “.
She also adds: At Electronic Arts, we are also gamers sensitive to technological developments. It is therefore important to us that our kernel-based anti-cheat system makes it a point to strengthen the security of our PC gamers. while respecting their privacy “. The EA-branded anti-cheat system will first be tested on FIFA 23and will then be deployed on other games in its stables on a case-by-case basis.
A solution that is in principle invasive, but how much?
Increasingly common, anti-cheat systems based on the kernel have already raised many issues. For example, we can cite respect for privacy, security, and even the integrity of the impacted PC.
In the blog post dedicated to this announcement, Elise Murphy tries to reassure players on this point. She specifies that EAAC will only work when a game under her supervision is launched. Once the game is stopped, the anti-cheat system should also be disabled.
Regarding the data collected by the system, Elise Murphy indicates that ” EAAC does not collect any information about your search history, applications that are not related to Electronic Arts games, or any information unrelated to anti-cheat protection. “.
For the time being, it is impossible to say whether EAAC will truly keep all its promises. Players can put this system to the test on the PC version of FIFA 23expected on September 27 and serving as the first large-scale guinea pig.
Source : Electronic Arts
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