I understand your issue and disappointment, but to compromise game security for 1 use case scenario seems a little out there dont you think? Maybe they can figure something out since LINUX is starting to make a gaming appearance.
I however hope they stand strong with these security requirements. Im sick and tired of hackers ruining games because people complain about enabling kernel based security features. Hackers obviously dont want to enable Secure Boot because its easier to cheat when its not enabled.
In this scenario, a kernel driver is installed that gives the anti-cheat full access to your PC. However, during the boot process, there is a window of vulnerability before the operating system and the anti-cheat driver fully load.
- Vulnerability: Sophisticated hackers can use "bootkit" malware or "rootkits" that load before the Windows kernel and the anti-cheat driver. Since Secure Boot isn't active, the system doesn't check if this malicious code is signed or authorized.
- Hacker's Advantage: The hacker can use this pre-boot access to manipulate the operating system and the anti-cheat driver itself, making their cheat undetectable by the time the game launches. The anti-cheat has to spend a lot of resources trying to confirm that its own environment hasn't been tampered with.
This is the scenario that Call of Duty (partially) and other games like Battlefield are moving towards.
- How it Works: When Secure Boot is enabled, your computer checks the digital signature of every piece of code that tries to run during startup, from the firmware itself to the operating system bootloader and any kernel drivers.
Anti-Cheat's Advantage: This gives the kernel-based anti-cheat a trusted and secure foundation. This allows the anti-cheat to be more efficient and confident in its detections, as it doesn't have to worry about being compromised before it even starts.
This is a vanilla explanation and i really hope EA/JAVELIN write a piece that is more descriptive of why their anti-cheat is preferred with Secure Boot ON and other requirements some people seem to have a problem with. I on the other hand question what people have a problem with enabling it. Im sure some are reasonable, but others are purely because they want it to be easier to enable their hacks.
