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[IbizaPocholo]

Sony's Patented Anti-Cheat Has Secured PlayStation 5

Trying to cheat in online multiplayer is nearly impossible on PlayStation 4 but with PlayStation 5, security measures are being further boosted by Sony.

segmentnext.com

Trying to cheat in online multiplayer is nearly impossible on PlayStation 4 but with PlayStation 5, security measures are being further boosted by Sony. Fact is that modders are going to be hacking away at the next-generation console at launch. Hence, why Sony has a patented system in place to not only detect intruders but to also immediately boot them from the online network.

Patent (US8622837B2) describes a system where Sony can deploy various metrics to be observed on a constant basis. These metrics can be for PlayStation 5 or online games running on the console. Upon discovering any inconsistencies, such as between game-data and game-metrics, the particular user will be “ejected” by the patented system from the network right away. Hence, ensuring a clean PlayStation 5 online community, safe from injected software.

Upon identification of an inconsistency between game data and a game metric, which may indicative of illicit game play, a validation process (e.g., active, passive, and/or hybrid) may be implemented to further confirm the existence of illicit game. Alternatively, an action to maintain integrity of the gaming community may be executed without further confirmation whereby a purportedly illicit game device may be ejected from the network.

The following figure further clarifies how every PlayStation 5 console will be monitored in an endless loop. Once the patented system detects any unusual activity, the network will ping the PlayStation 5 user to fetch data. Validating whether the information is inconsistent with any placed metrics, the system will decide if the user should be allowed to remain on the network or not. The patent potentially describes a bricked console as punishment.

In the case of online multiplayer, developers can set a rules library for the patented system to follow. In such a case, once a PlayStation 5 user has entered the multiplayer lobby, their game-data will be monitored for changes. Should they be different from the prescribed ruleset, they will be booted out.

Such security measures fall right in place with the way Sony has been touting PlayStation 5 to radically change how next-generation games are going to be downloaded and played. In another patent — recently updated, Sony described a method where an application software is split into multiple portions, giving users the freedom to not only download but also execute a particular portion of the application software.

Such a method could also allow players to download the single-player campaign, for example, and start playing while the multiplayer components are being downloaded in the background.

 

[shaddam]

good

 

[Roni]

One of the reasons I moved away from PC gaming was the rampant cheating. So I appreciate both console makers working on further protections. We'll see if this stands the test of time, crossing my fingers!

 

[ThatGamingDude]

The patent potentially describes a bricked console as punishment.

Fucking excuse me?

You're telling me you're going to potentionally brick my system over a false positive?

Fuck that; I buy the hardware and the license of the OS, I have a right to modify it if I want

I imagine the EU is going to be on fire over consumer rights on this

Including brick code or bricking your consumers hard ware is fucking stupid and absolutely counter intuitive to selling products

 

[Kagero]

If Jerry Springer ever taught me anything, it’s that ,”once a cheater, always a cheater.”

 

[hariseldon]

Fucking excuse me?

You're telling me you're going to potentionally brick my system over a false positive?

Fuck that; I buy the hardware and the license of the OS, I have a right to modify it if I want

I imagine the EU is going to be on fire over consumer rights on this

Including brick code or bricking your consumers hard ware is fucking stupid and absolutely counter intuitive to selling products

Well that's some anti-consumer shit right there. And this is why I'm glad I do my gaming on PC.

 

[SAMZ]

Fucking excuse me?

You're telling me you're going to potentionally brick my system over a false positive?

Fuck that; I buy the hardware and the license of the OS, I have a right to modify it if I want

I imagine the EU is going to be on fire over consumer rights on this

Including brick code or bricking your consumers hard ware is fucking stupid and absolutely counter intuitive to selling products

Nope it's a good idea, perhaps they could soften it by banning from all PS online services. If you choose the mod then I dont want to ever play with you.

 

[PharaoTutAnchAmun]

Good...leave the modding and cheating to the PCMasterrace

 

[ThatGamingDude]

Nope it's a good idea, perhaps they could soften it by banning from all PS online services. If you choose the mod then I dont want to ever play with you.

They should 100% soften it to banning from all PS online services

Think of it this way; a false positive happens, does Sony have a method to unbrick the console? What's the method of reversing the brick? Are they even willing to hear cases where it was a legit false positive? If their hardware has a malfunction or your network has a malfunction and sends up malformed metrics because the packets are garbage, are they going to unban you?

Your standard home router doesn't do packet capturing and logging, so you'd be up shit creek

I get not wanting to play with cheaters, and hence why on my modded stuff I don't play online (Unless on a pirate server with us other filthy modders, and really only if it's an online only game) but that goes WAY too far

Not only that, but say I'm running a console-cade sort of business, you can't just have a false positive happen and have one of your consoles fucking brick on a false positive; that's horse shit

 

[Abriael_GN]

Sony's Patented Anti-Cheat Has Secured PlayStation 5

Trying to cheat in online multiplayer is nearly impossible on PlayStation 4 but with PlayStation 5, security measures are being further boosted by Sony.

segmentnext.com

Trying to cheat in online multiplayer is nearly impossible on PlayStation 4 but with PlayStation 5, security measures are being further boosted by Sony. Fact is that modders are going to be hacking away at the next-generation console at launch. Hence, why Sony has a patented system in place to not only detect intruders but to also immediately boot them from the online network.

Patent (US8622837B2) describes a system where Sony can deploy various metrics to be observed on a constant basis. These metrics can be for PlayStation 5 or online games running on the console. Upon discovering any inconsistencies, such as between game-data and game-metrics, the particular user will be “ejected” by the patented system from the network right away. Hence, ensuring a clean PlayStation 5 online community, safe from injected software.



The following figure further clarifies how every PlayStation 5 console will be monitored in an endless loop. Once the patented system detects any unusual activity, the network will ping the PlayStation 5 user to fetch data. Validating whether the information is inconsistent with any placed metrics, the system will decide if the user should be allowed to remain on the network or not. The patent potentially describes a bricked console as punishment.

In the case of online multiplayer, developers can set a rules library for the patented system to follow. In such a case, once a PlayStation 5 user has entered the multiplayer lobby, their game-data will be monitored for changes. Should they be different from the prescribed ruleset, they will be booted out.

Such security measures fall right in place with the way Sony has been touting PlayStation 5 to radically change how next-generation games are going to be downloaded and played. In another patent — recently updated, Sony described a method where an application software is split into multiple portions, giving users the freedom to not only download but also execute a particular portion of the application software.

Such a method could also allow players to download the single-player campaign, for example, and start playing while the multiplayer components are being downloaded in the background.

You mean a patented anti-cheat system which may or may not ever make it into a product and that is in no shape or form explicitly linked to PS5 but that this site just assumed is for PS5 to clickbait.

Repeat with me: not all patents become products. A majority of them actually don't.

 

[Kagero]

They should 100% soften it to banning from all PS online services

Think of it this way; a false positive happens, does Sony have a method to unbrick the console? What's the method of reversing the brick? Are they even willing to hear cases where it was a legit false positive? If their hardware has a malfunction or your network has a malfunction and sends up malformed metrics because the packets are garbage, are they going to unban you?

Your standard home router doesn't do packet capturing and logging, so you'd be up shit creek

I get not wanting to play with cheaters, and hence why on my modded stuff I don't play online (Unless on a pirate server with us other filthy modders, and really only if it's an online only game) but that goes WAY too far

Not only that, but say I'm running a console-cade sort of business, you can't just have a false positive happen and have one of your consoles fucking brick on a false positive; that's horse shit

Why you gotta cheat bro?

 

[ThatGamingDude]

Why you gotta cheat bro?

Eh, TBH I'm less into cheating and more into things like graphics packs or fan made expansions

I haven't booted up cheat engine or any RAM modifiers in probably about 7-10 years

Hell I don't even have any cheats installed on my modded Switch lol; being able to OC games to stable frame rates is pretty killer on the Switch

 

[NeoGiffer]

The patent potentially describes a bricked console as punishment.

 

[Ar¢tos]

I'm sure bricking is not for first time offenders....
No need to panic.

 

[johntown]

Never really had much issue with cheaters on PS4 but laggy ppl whether done purposely or not is my biggest issue. Fix that or group all laggy ppl in the same match and I will be happy.

 

[Hostile_18]

They will do all this and then release controllers with turbo buttons or add in a mouse and keyboard for multiplayer games lol.

 

[Katsura]

Fucking excuse me?

You're telling me you're going to potentionally brick my system over a false positive?

Fuck that; I buy the hardware and the license of the OS, I have a right to modify it if I want

I imagine the EU is going to be on fire over consumer rights on this

Including brick code or bricking your consumers hard ware is fucking stupid and absolutely counter intuitive to selling products

Yup, no way that's going to fly in the EU. That's setting themselves up for a massive fine. What the fuck are they even thinking, trying to pull shit like that

 

[ThatGamingDude]

You mean a patented anti-cheat system which may or may not ever make it into a product and that is in no shape or form explicitly linked to PS5 but that this site just assumed is for PS5 to clickbait.

Repeat with me: not all patents become products. A majority of them actually don't.

Oh of course most don't come to light, just the idea if it does come to light is going to be insane

Imagine you're reviewing a game for work and Sony's system pops a false positive and bricks your console, or has an internal problem and bricks 1000's of consoles

No bueno if it comes out!

 

[GV82]

Good on the cheating but bad on the Accidental banning, which will happen because it will fuck it up at some point & then they’ll say they are having trouble unbanning for a while, especially when you really want to play and you are innocent.

Imagine it happens right around the time you actually have spare time to play games, but you can’t because banned by mistake

I love my playstation but I don’t like the way they handle the psn stuff currently which all ties into online.p stuff, so I am not convinced by this not even as a concept

 

[Croatoan]

Horse shit. Sony still hasn't done anything about the Strikepack FPS Dominator. A device you can buy at walmart that attaches to your controller and run scripts removing recoil (By using a macro to counteract it) in games (as well as other things). For those of you on PC you might be familiar with mouse and keyboards that run macros and how that is considered cheating. Well the FPS Dominator does that and is the device you need to cheat on PS4/Xb1 if you want to get away with it.

Honestly fuck Sony for doing absolutely nothing about the Dominator. R6S has been RUINED by it ,and mouse and keyboard (Xim), on PS4 and xb1. It pisses me off that Sony is patting themselves on the back when cheating is rampant across PUBG, R6S, Call of Duty, and Battlefield games.

If they cared they would put software into the ps4 and PS5 that could detect unusual inputs and ban players for using devices that run macros. On PC, PUBG Corp. and many other companies, have figured out how to do it. Why the hell is sony dragging its feet?

God this pisses me off to no end. Its sad when good players have to start cheating just to compete with the other cheaters.

For all console PUBG players, if you have ever been killed by an UMP 45 it was probably a cheater. That, and the sks, are the guns that work the best with the FPS dominator macros. They can semi fire an UMP with zero recoil, faster than the actual full auto setting. It makes an unusual noise and its really easy to pick out during a match. Around 60% of the matches I play has at least one UMP or SKS cheater in it (again you can tell by sound/fire rate). The full auto sks with no recoil is insanely easy to pick out as well because it has a distictive fire sound and the rate is way faster than anyone can physically pull the trigger.

 

[diffusionx]

How different is this from something like VAC? Don't all anti-cheat systems work in fundamentally this way: monitor the memory and CPU, log it when something is strange, then report it to home base. I don't think this will work any better than VAC when (when, not if) hackers/modders break the thing open.

 

[Saber]

Just watch out to not screw non cheaters as well. Those hard anti-cheat measures can also damage normal players in one way or another.

 

[Sophist]

Enforcing cloud gaming would be effective against all kind of hacks (and piracy) but not all. Another solution would be a secure cryptoprocessor. AI-assisted anti-cheat will also become the norm (already is?)

 

[Slings and Arrows]

It's not the cheaters that concern me, they're few and far between. It's people who use a mouse and keyboard vs controller in online games.

It's like an Olympic gold medalist competing in the Paralympics. Yeah you''ll win, but you're just a dick for doing it.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Horse shit. Sony still hasn't done anything about the Strikepack FPS Dominator. A device you can buy at walmart that attaches to your controller and run scripts removing recoil (By using a macro to counteract it) in games (as well as other things). For those of you on PC you might be familiar with mouse and keyboards that run macros and how that is considered cheating. Well the FPS Dominator does that and is the device you need to cheat on PS4/Xb1 if you want to get away with it.

Honestly fuck Sony for doing absolutely nothing about the Dominator. R6S has been RUINED by it ,and mouse and keyboard (Xim), on PS4 and xb1. It pisses me off that Sony is patting themselves on the back when cheating is rampant across PUBG, R6S, Call of Duty, and Battlefield games.

If they cared they would put software into the ps4 and PS5 that could detect unusual inputs and ban players for using devices that run macros. On PC, PUBG Corp. and many other companies, have figured out how to do it. Why the hell is sony dragging its feet?

God this pisses me off to no end. Its sad when good players have to start cheating just to compete with the other cheaters.

For all console PUBG players, if you have ever been killed by an UMP 45 it was probably a cheater. That, and the sks, are the guns that work the best with the FPS dominator macros. They can semi fire an UMP with zero recoil, faster than the actual full auto setting. It makes an unusual noise and its really easy to pick out during a match. Around 60% of the matches I play has at least one UMP or SKS cheater in it (again you can tell by sound/fire rate). The full auto sks with no recoil is insanely easy to pick out as well because it has a distictive fire sound and the rate is way faster than anyone can physically pull the trigger.

Couldnt agree more with you here.

My young nephews run these on their PS4s and they think its the funniest thing ever using single shot DMR type of rifles in full auto with no recoil.

They were visiting my house one day and we were all outside and they asked if they could go play on my PS4 and of course I agreed.

I came in to check on them and noticed they had brought their own controller and when the one started using a shot gun up close in rapid fire with no recoil I asked what was going on.

He showed me that strike pack and the paid mod pass that he bought with it and I lost my shit, little guys are so lucky they didnt get my console banned.

And after talking with them the group they run with he said they pretty much all have this cheat pack on.

The addon itself feels really good with just the paddles actually.

 

[cireza]

Awesome ! But will they secure our credit card number and account information ?

 

[Carna]

You may dislike cheating, but this is one step towards being very anti-consumer. I hope none of this results in bricking your console or being banned from psn.

 

[CyberPanda]

Well that's some anti-consumer shit right there. And this is why I'm glad I do my gaming on PC.

PC gaming ftw

 

[waylo]

One of the reasons I moved away from PC gaming was the rampant cheating. So I appreciate both console makers working on further protections. We'll see if this stands the test of time, crossing my fingers!

Here we go with this bullshit again. Been gaming on PC for 20 years. Counter Strike, COD, you name it. Are there cheaters? Sure. Are they "rampant"? Nope. This excuse is tired as fuck.

 

[Roni]

Here we go with this bullshit again. Been gaming on PC for 20 years. Counter Strike, COD, you name it. Are there cheaters? Sure. Are they "rampant"? Nope. This excuse is tired as fuck.

When you can't reach any top spots in leaderboards because they're all taken by glitchers and cheaters, I call that rampant. But you're more than welcome to keep playing on PC if it isn't bothering you.

 

[Zog]

Bricking a console that doesn't belong to you would seem like illegal destruction of property.

 

[KlickKlack]

Bricking a console that doesn't belong to you would seem like illegal destruction of property.

oh boy..... OS and all services/apps belong to Sony... yours is only that pice of plastic and hardware... but without the OS/bios/services rights its dead box... nothing more.
They will not destroy your hardware they simply disable the OS and you can't do anything... before you get angry... they have the right to do so.

 

[Croatoan]

Couldnt agree more with you here.

My young nephews run these on their PS4s and they think its the funniest thing ever using single shot DMR type of rifles in full auto with no recoil.

They were visiting my house one day and we were all outside and they asked if they could go play on my PS4 and of course I agreed.

I came in to check on them and noticed they had brought their own controller and when the one started using a shot gun up close in rapid fire with no recoil I asked what was going on.

He showed me that strike pack and the paid mod pass that he bought with it and I lost my shit, little guys are so lucky they didnt get my console banned.

And after talking with them the group they run with he said they pretty much all have this cheat pack on.

The addon itself feels really good with just the paddles actually.

Shit is depressing man, and literally nobody is talking about it. If there where real games journalists this shit would be front page news.

The thing costs like $40 at Walmart and lets you ruin other people's day with no chance of getting banned. At the very least Sony should pressure Walmart to not sell it anymore.

I asked an employee the other day how well it sold and he told me they are constantly having to order more due to demand. He told me that it would be worse if the dominator worked for fortnite. He was a user as well and got pissed when I called him a cheater.

 

[Zog]

oh boy..... OS and all services/apps belong to Sony... yours is only that pice of plastic and hardware... but without the OS/bios/services rights its dead box... nothing more.
The will not destroy your hardware they simply disable the OS and you can't do anything... before you get angry... they have the right to do so.

Well when you buy a console, you are paying for more than the hardware. Do you get some money back for the broken OS?

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Shit is depressing man, and literally nobody is talking about it. If there where real games journalists this shit would be front page news.

The thing costs like $40 at Walmart and lets you ruin other people's day with no chance of getting banned. At the very least Sony should pressure Walmart to not sell it anymore.

I asked an employee the other day how well it sold and he told me they are constantly having to order more due to demand. He told me that it would be worse if the dominator worked for fortnite. He was a user as well and got pissed when I called him a cheater.

I was in my local WalMart and they had 5 packs for both Xbox and PS4. In like a week the PS4 ones were gone and Xbox had 2, maybe 3 left, its sad.

 

[CuteFaceJay]

How do you patent anti-cheat methods LOL?

This sounds like PR crap to create buzz.

 

[Croatoan]

I was in my local WalMart and they had 5 packs for both Xbox and PS4. In like a week the PS4 ones were gone and Xbox had 2, maybe 3 left, its sad.

I wish there was a way to report gamer tags that are using dominators to sony for them to review and ban. I have 20 people on my friends list who all have admitted to using one. I no longer play with any of them due to their cheating and would love to get their systems banned.

 

[Tiamat2san]

My internet connection is a shitty one.
My ping can go from 15 to more than 100. (Usually it’s 17/18ms)
My download goes from 500 mbs to 30mbs. (200mbs on average)
I always found that it was worst on the PS4 than on the one.
I hope it won’t impact me.

 

[cormack12]

The amount of people actually doing this on console is surely minimal. Much less than those taking advantage of lag switching and MKB converters.

I agree with Abriael_GN we saw all sorts of crazy cloud stuff and shared compute with the switch iirc, doesn't mean it makes it to product. However, if it does somehow become a reality I agree with ThatGamingDude in that a bricked console should never be the option. It should boot you from connecting to services and display it on the bootup screen to ensure no one gets stung on a resale.

 

[Fnord]

I avoid cheaters and bans by not playing online.

 

[Miles708]

The amount of people actually doing this on console is surely minimal. Much less than those taking advantage of lag switching and MKB converters.

I agree with Abriael_GN we saw all sorts of crazy cloud stuff and shared compute with the switch iirc, doesn't mean it makes it to product. However, if it does somehow become a reality I agree with ThatGamingDude in that a bricked console should never be the option. It should boot you from connecting to services and display it on the bootup screen to ensure no one gets stung on a resale.

Agree, even if ideally it would be best to implement some way to "start fresh" in case of resale, just to avoid giving the hot potato to an unaware buyer.
The bricked console thing is obviously unacceptable (unless they also refund the user, which is clearly not going to happen), but, not that i doubt the article, and sadly i'm a dumb person, but the linked patent data doesn't say very much about it. It always talks about "network", so at worst it should be just a regular ban, instead of a sudden $500 paperweight?

Then we could talk about having all your purchases taken away because of a cheat... we're talking about entertainment here, not a bank robbery.

I don't even play online so whatever, but still...

 

[Ar¢tos]

How do you patent anti-cheat methods LOL?

This sounds like PR crap to create buzz.

It's perfectly normal and Sony is not the only one (MS has done it too)

Microsoft Patent Aims To Develop Cheat-Detection Software For Gaming

Xbox could implement a network-wide anti-cheating software that uses artificial intelligence to track the pace of players' progress in video games.

www.cbinsights.com

Electronic Arts' New Anti-Cheat Tech Will Analyze RAM For Malicious Software

Electronic Arts is working on a new anti-cheat system that'll help catch cheaters by observing your RAM for malicious software.

respawnfirst.com

US20150194016A1 - Anti-cheating system - Google Patents

An anti-cheating system includes a real world controller constructed to provide a randomly generated payout of real world credits for a wager of an amount of real world credits; an entertainment software controller constructed to provide outcomes upon a player's skillful execution of an...

patents.google.com

There are plenty more, a basic Google search will show you several patents.
If you devise a specific way to find cheaters, its perfectly normal to patent it to protect your investment. There are stupider things patented.
It's just another tool in the SDK for devs that want it, so devs don't have to create their own and all the tech support is on Sony side, meaning it's cheaper for devs than using their own or a third party solution.

 

[Stuart360]

Getting banned i get, but actually bricking your console?, would that even be legal? lol

 

[Bryank75]

Getting banned i get, but actually bricking your console?, would that even be legal? lol

It's only a patent, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

[pesaddict]

Whats that i smell

 

[DonF]

Well that's some anti-consumer shit right there. And this is why I'm glad I do my gaming on PC.

There is already hardware ban on pc.

Of course on pc you have more options, while on console if sony bans your console, you are pretty much fucked.

 

[NickFire]

Fucking excuse me?

You're telling me you're going to potentionally brick my system over a false positive?

Fuck that; I buy the hardware and the license of the OS, I have a right to modify it if I want

I imagine the EU is going to be on fire over consumer rights on this

Including brick code or bricking your consumers hard ware is fucking stupid and absolutely counter intuitive to selling products

If you know how to modify it, what stops you from installing firmware to play it without connecting to PSN?

 

[ThatGamingDude]

If you know how to modify it, what stops you from installing firmware to play it without connecting to PSN?

....
Because it doesn't work that way?

 

[hariseldon]

There is already hardware ban on pc.

Of course on pc you have more options, while on console if sony bans your console, you are pretty much fucked.

1. There’s a world of difference between banning a person from one service and bricking the hardware they bought for a significant amount of money.
2. There are plenty of ways around such a ban because on the PC you have a little thing called freedom.
3. How would you feel if you had your machine bricked and had done nothing wrong?

 

[Stuart360]

1. There’s a world of difference between banning a person from one service and bricking the hardware they bought for a significant amount of money.
2. There are plenty of ways around such a ban because on the PC you have a little thing called freedom.
3. How would you feel if you had your machine bricked and had done nothing wrong?

I'm no legal expert, but i cant see how they would legally be able to get away with bricking your system, cheating or not.
Cheating sucks though, i see it all the time on PC, so i have no roblems with banning.