FURI | Spring 2025

Exploring the Underground Market of Game Cheating: Privacy Risks, Malware, and Monetization

This project aims to investigate the development, distribution, and commercialization of game cheat programs. Understanding these dynamics is crucial for developing stronger anti-cheat mechanisms and enhancing user protection. This research leverages a mixed-methods approach, combining quantitative data collection through web crawling with qualitative coding to analyze forums and marketplaces related to game cheating. This research shows how cheat developers evade anti-cheat programs, incorporate AI for improved cheating, monetize their programs, and compromise user security and privacy through hidden malware. These results are essential in providing actionable insights for anti-cheat development and user protection mechanisms.