A popular cheating program for Counter-Strike: Global Offensive was compromised by a mysterious individual hacker who then leaked user info online.
The affected program is a private branch of the infamous Skeet.cc cheating program. The user information is being distributed through a hacking forum and allegedly includes the information of more than 200 CSGO cheaters.
The branch of Skeet that was hacked was being distributed through the website gamesense.pw. The domain was shut down sometime over the last few days. The Gamesense platform is possibly the largest CSGO cheating community, though the hacking target was a private version that may have differed from the original CSGO cheating application.
The leaked information includes the entire SQL table of user information. That database includes all user information available on Steam as well as the source code and plug-ins from their private forum. Administrator, user, and even Discord bot logs were also compromised.
Most importantly, the source code of the cheating program itself has been released by the hacker. This code could be analyzed by Valve to improve Valve Anti-Cheat detection. Alternatively, it could be more widely distributed or used as the base for more advanced cheating programs. Leaks like this can greatly impact the cat-and-mouse race between Valve’s anti-cheat efforts and CSGO hack developers.
Cheating in CSGO is unfortunately very common, but Valve is constantly trying to improve its anti-cheat systems. In one analysis by YouTuber WarOwl, 45 out of 50 CSGO players who were reported for potentially cheating wound up being verified hackers. Cheating is common enough in CSGO that many players prefer to use third-party matchmaking services with more advanced anti-cheat, such as ESEA or FACEIT.
CSGO hackers are also being banned at unprecedented rates. A 10,000-strong ban wave in July was spurred by the rework of prime matchmaking. Valve Anti-Cheat bans have continued to spike periodically. 570 VAC bans were handed out on June 12 alone.
Players must be 21 years of age or older or reach the minimum age for gambling in their respective state and located in jurisdictions where online gambling is legal. Please play responsibly. Bet with your head, not over it. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, and wants help, call or visit: (a) the Council on Compulsive Gambling of New Jersey at 1-800-Gambler or www.800gambler.org; or (b) Gamblers Anonymous at 855-2-CALL-GA or www.gamblersanonymous.org.
