Hackers Strike With New Exploit in GTA Online; First Case Documented [UPDATED - Rockstar responds]

Update

Rockstar Games has finally spoken out on the matter. The studio announced on Twitter that it is aware of the problem and intends to solve it with the next security update.

Original message

A dangerous exploit appeared in GTA Online, which, when properly used, enables one to manipulate player stats, damage accounts belonging to them, and even ban or permanently delete them. Initially, fans of the game recommended protecting yourself with a good firewall, but new information shows that the situation is much more serious than it initially seemed, and it is best to refrain from playing for a while.

1. The seriousness of the problem was brought to the attention of Speyedr, the author of the tool called Guardian, which blocks network ports that GTA Online uses for matchmaking, making it possible to play without random people and unwanted modders. According to him, the exploit is so dangerous that it can not only cause us to lose our account, but also delete files from our PC.
2. Speyedr's tool still protects against this exploit, but only if you use it properly. The risk of doing it wrong is so great that the author has temporarily disabled the ability to download Guardian (if you nevertheless want to use it, you can still download it from the mirror on our FTP).
3. The concerns of Speyedr and the rest of the community are not unfounded. A player known by many fans by the nickname Mors Mutual, who specializes in playing as an insurance agent on RP servers, found out the hard way. Someone used this exploit to damage his GTA Online account, effectively making it impossible for him to continue playing. It was eventually fixed, but not by Rockstar Games studio, but by another modder.
4. Other players report cases such as someone maliciously adding a billion in game currency to someone else's account, which resulted in a ban because the anti-cheat system determined that it was the wronged user who had cheated. On GTA Online's Reddit there is no shortage of desperate players who have lost months and sometimes even years of progress.
5. There are also many indications that vulnerabilities in the game's multiplayer engine could enable hackers to alter our HDD and, for example, run unwanted programs on it. As of yet there are no confirmed cases of such actions, but they are possible, so most likely their appearance is only a matter of time.
6. To make matters worse, the game's multiplayer engine is said to have many such vulnerabilities, so even if Rockstar patches the one enabling this exploit, similar actions will be possible with the help of others.
7. Also of concern is the lack of any statement from the developers at Rockstar Games. One can only hope that the authors are already working on fixes. GTA Online is the goose that lays golden eggs for the studio, so we are unlikely to have to worry that these loopholes will not be patched. The only question is how long we will have to wait for it.

Source: Twitter.

If, despite everything, you decide to play GTA Online take advantage of Guardian. Using it, play in a solo session or allow only people whose IP addresses you know and can add to the list in this program as safe. Don't temporarily open your session to everyone, which is common when we don't want to list IPs - we then open access for a while to enable our friends to join, but during this time unauthorized people can also get into the session. Therefore, until the issue is patched, don't be lazy, because it can end badly.

1. GTA Online - official website