Summary:
The article discusses Riot Games’ requirement for players to install their Vanguard anti-cheat software, which runs at the kernel level, in order to play their games such as League of Legends and Valorant. The software aims to combat cheating by scanning for known vulnerabilities and blocking them, as well as monitoring for suspicious activity while the game is being played. However, the use of kernel-level software raises concerns about privacy and security, as it grants the company complete access to users’ devices.
The article highlights that Riot Games is owned by Tencent, a Chinese tech giant that has been involved in censorship and surveillance activities in China. This raises concerns that Vanguard could potentially be used for similar purposes, such as monitoring players’ activity and restricting free speech in-game.
Ultimately, the decision to install Vanguard rests with players, but the article urges caution and encourages players to consider the potential risks and implications before doing so.
As a geopolitical side note to all this, there is a small but real chance that we may be going to war with (Edit: China) someday in the future, over Taiwan.
Do you really want an adversary that can potentionally disable a large portion of your populations computers in one fell swoop?
Edit: Because of Tencent’s ownership of Riot, which is a Chinese company.
I believe it’s much more than a small chance, war over Taiwan is going to happen. Question is when, not if. https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/us-air-force-general-predicts-war-china-2025-memo-rcna67967
But I agree, trading his computer control to China just to be able to play a game is ridiculous. Hopefully those who agree aren’t people that would matter anyway.
Even if none of those machines matter, a botnet the size of all valorant + LoL players has a lot of ddos potential.
Idk if id be more worried about a Chinese anti cheat that doesnt run on critical infrastructure or about Windows, Android, iOS + keep in mind Riot is an american company owned by a chinese one so idk if they would actually side with china
One can only hope. Back doors do exist, and seeing how parts of American politics these days seems to favor certain foreign countries, I’m not so sure. Greed seems to override oaths.
Riot? I don’t see a war with Riot being likely.
/picardfacepalm