{"id":46095,"date":"2018-05-01T03:09:13","date_gmt":"2018-05-01T10:09:13","guid":{"rendered":""},"modified":"2018-05-01T03:09:13","modified_gmt":"2018-05-01T10:09:13","slug":"chinese-authorities-dish-out-5m-in-fines-for-developers-of-pubg-hack-software","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.taterboy.com\/blog\/2018\/05\/chinese-authorities-dish-out-5m-in-fines-for-developers-of-pubg-hack-software\/","title":{"rendered":"Chinese authorities dish out $5M in fines for developers of PUBG hack software"},"content":{"rendered":"

There has long been speculation and evidence of cheating software for PlayerUnknown\u2019s Battlegrounds (PUBG), but action\u00a0is being taken\u00a0to stamp it out. The makers of the smash-hit game have confirmed that they have worked with authorities in China who have dished out over $5 million in fines to at least 15 people caught developing hacks that help players cheat.<\/span><\/p>\n

PUBG, in case you missed it, is one of the top-grossing games in the world this year. A shoot-up battle royale game that sees players battle to survive to the end, PUBG grossed $700 million in revenue via PC sales<\/a> last year and that\u2019s only increased in 2018 as the title landed on mobile. It\u2019s particularly big in China where internet giant Tencent is the publishing partner.<\/p>\n

That Tencent link might have proved useful, as Bluehole \u2014 the company behind PUBG \u2014 revealed in a statement<\/a> that Chinese authorities have helped it clamp down on hacking programs, handing out the huge number of fines in\u00a0the process:<\/p>\n

\n

Here\u2019s some translated information from the local authorities we worked with on this case:<\/p>\n

\u201c15 major suspects including \u201cOMG\u201d, \u201cFL\u201d, \u201c??\u201d, \u201c??\u201d and \u201c??\u201d were arrested for developing hack programs, hosting marketplaces for hack programs, and brokering transactions. Currently the suspects have been fined approximately 30mil RNB ($5.1mil USD). Other suspects related to this case are still being investigated.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n

While the programs were being developed in China and there were users there too, it isn\u2019t clear whether that reach extended to gamers in the U.S. and other countries.<\/p>\n

Beyond just cheating, there is also a significant risk for those who use the hacked software.<\/p>\n

Bluehole said it found evidence that the programs were\u00a0used by their developers to infect host PCs in order to \u201ccontrol users\u2019 PC, scan their data, and extract information illegally.\u201d Some, it is said, used Trojan Horse software to steal user information \u2014 that could mean information from when they shop online (like credit card numbers), the content of emails, and more.<\/p>\n

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There has long been speculation and evidence of cheating software for PlayerUnknown\u2019s Battlegrounds (PUBG), but action\u00a0is being taken\u00a0to stamp it out. The makers of the smash-hit game have confirmed that they have worked with authorities in China who have dished out over $5 million in fines to at least 15 people caught developing hacks that… Read the full article…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[15],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-46095","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general-info"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t