Riot Turning To Bounty Hunters to Make Valorant and League of Legends Safer Should Be a Lesson for Black Ops 6

Even with a robust anti-cheat like Vanguard, Riot Games understands that there is always a way to find vulnerabilities in software, which can make the competitive ecosystem unfair and unethical. So, it has decided to expand its security measures beyond just internal teams like most developers- it has turned to the bounty hunters of the cybersecurity world.

By offering cash rewards for uncovering security flaws, Riot has created a win-win situation: hackers get paid for finding vulnerabilities, and players get safer games. In all honesty, Black Ops 6 should try this approach as since its launch, it has been suffering from a lot of cheaters. After all, if Riot can keep its players safe with a little help from hackers, why can’t others follow suit?

Riot Games’ Proactive Approach to Security

While this may sound like a drastic measure, it showcases Riot’s commitment to providing a fair and secure playing field. The Vanguard system, implemented in titles like Valorant and League of Legends, has proven to be highly effective. However, it hasn’t been without its controversies, especially in terms of privacy concerns.

Now, by introducing a bug bounty program that invites security researchers and ethical hackers to report vulnerabilities, it has turned to the very people who know how to break the system. If they discover vulnerabilities within Riot’s services, games, and software, they get rewarded.

The program offers different payout tiers based on the severity of the exploit, with the largest rewards going to those who can discover kernel-level code execution flaws or unauthorized data access. The program can offer rewards as low as $500 up to an impressive $100,000.

By taking this approach, Riot Games has not only showcased its commitment to fair play but also set an example for other gaming companies. If you look at it from the company’s perspective, the bounties offered are an investment in the long-term health of its titles. This has all the potential to become a model for the entire industry.

This Could Lead to a Shift Toward Community-Driven Security

While this is not the first time any company has rewarded hackers for finding vulnerabilities (Facebook and Google have done this before), the willingness to accept security flaws and offer financial rewards for it should serve as an example of how it should be done to protect the game and its competitive ecosystem.

Traditionally, companies rely on their internal teams of cybersecurity experts to safeguard their titles and it has worked wonders for years. But with hackers getting innovative and new technology constantly emerging it can be difficult to keep up, this model has a better chance to react faster to emerging threats.

Titles like Black Ops 6, which have been struggling with cheater issues, should take a lesson from Riot Games’ bug bounty program and implement it as soon as possible.

It’s not like this is the first time a Call of Duty title has suffered from this issue since its launch (it’s been the same case for almost all installments). It’s time for Activision to show its commitment and turn the hackers into an investment as community-driven security measures.

In the end, the future of gaming security is collaborative, and those who embrace this model will likely find themselves at the forefront of providing a safer and more enjoyable gaming experience for their audiences.