Players’ data and accounts reportedly compromised due to new exploits by hackers

GTA Online PC players’ data seems to be severely compromised as cheaters can now break their game. On January 21, popular industry insider Tez2 reported on Twitter that new exploits have been found in GTA Online that allow hackers to corrupt players’ account data permanently.

The incident came to light courtesy of @HarryGotTaken after Rockstar released a new weekly update for the game on January 19, 2022. The details of the report provided by Tez2 can be found below.

GTA Online PC players need to stay alert amid reports of game-breaking exploits

#GTAOnline PC High Alert@HarryGotTaken for notifying

#GTAOnline PC High Alert⚠️New extreme exploits have appeared allowing cheaters to remotely add/remove/modify your stats and permanently corrupt your account aka ban/delete.Avoid playing without a firewall rule or playing at all!🚨Thanks to @HarryGotTaken for notifying https://t.co/tyh4tCInML

As can be seen in the tweet above, Tez2 shared that the new exploits can ruin the experience for other GTA Online players. According to their research, cheaters can now do the following to PC players:

• Remotely add/modify/remove statistics
• Permanently corrupt player account via ban/delete

Based on the insider’s findings, here’s what the in-game exploits look like:

• Added Players > Account > Rank
• Added Players > Account > Unlocks
• Added Players > Account > Badsport
• Added Players > Account > Corrupt Account
• Added Players > Account > Remove Money
• Added Players > Account > Give Money (up to $15m at a time)
• Added Players > Account > Reset Mission Cooldowns

As one can notice, the level of damage these exploits can do is unimaginable as the entire in-game data for PC players is now compromised. Tez2 also suggested a possible way to prevent getting hacked. According to them, GTA Online players on PC should use a firewall while playing the game.

When the infamous kick-and-crash exploits were found in the game in December 2022, @Speyedr shared very helpful tips for PC players to tackle the situation. Here’s how gamers can again save their data with a workaround until Rockstar officially gets rid of the new exploits:

1. Download Guardian 1.54 Fast Load Fix from Gitlab
2. Select Locked Session

Please note that this method only works for single players, solo sessions, or non-host gamers in an online session. If one attempts it as a session host, Guardian will prevent anyone from joining them.

The developers haven’t acknowledged the existence of these exploits at the time of writing this article. However, a background update is expected to be released soon to address these hacks. Till then, it is advisable not to play the game on a PC without a firewall.

While hacking or cheating with exploits is nothing new, the kind of risk these fresh ones present is really big. That is why fans can expect the developers to address the situation soon.