Every now and then, word will come out aboutgame companies offering hackers cash rewardsfor putting their skills to legitimate use finding hidden exploits in their security systems. This time the word’s about Riot Games, because this week it announced that it’s offering similar bounties in return for uncovering flaws in the anti-cheat system being used for its new tactical shooterValorant.
This is actually something Riot has been doing for years, as it’s been hosting a Bug Bounty program on security management platform HackerOne since 2014, but withValorantit’s really stepped up the reward money. Whereas bounties from other game companies tend to range anywhere between $100 and $20,000, Riot’s rewards start at $25,000 and go way up from there.
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The kind of bugs that the developer is looking for range from simpler exploits that can be used to illegally access private information to more serious ones that could conceivably compromise a user’s computer without their knowledge, the latter of which could lead to massive bounties of up to $100,000.
This announcement follows the news from earlier this week thatValorant’s anti-cheat program, Vanguard, is always running on players’ computers. That, plus the fact that the game can’t run without it, has stirred up a fair bit of controversy in the last few days. While Riot has stated that it’s only fully active when the game is running, many are still concerned that the program is too invasive and could pose a greater risk to players' PCs should an exploit end up being found and abused.
In response, the developer has doubled down by reminding that it has already rigorously testedVanguardfor vulnerabilities. “The bottom line is we would never let Riot ship anything if we weren’t confident it treated player privacy and security with the extreme seriousness they deserve,” its security team wrote in a post explaining the situation.
To that end, Riot assured that the sheer size of the bounties it’s offering forValorantbugsis a testament to its commitment to maintaining a safe environment with its newest game. “We want players to continue to play our games with peace of mind, and we’re putting our money where our mouth is. If you think you’ve found a flaw in Vanguard that would undermine the security and privacy of players, please submit a report right away.”
Valorantis in closed beta on PC, with a full release planned for this summer.
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