EA updates Battlefield 2024 anti-cheat mitigation to require Windows Secure Boot

[Cal Jeffrey]

Bottom line: As cheating software evolves, so must mitigation efforts. However, new anti-cheat measures rarely go off without a hitch. Many players express concerns about disruptions, false bans, or privacy issues. While no system is perfect, these safeguards are necessary to maintain fair play and preserve the integrity of the game for honest users.

Despite shifting focus to the next Battlefield game, EA continues supporting Battlefield 2042 with updates. The latest patch (8.8.0) now requires Secure Boot to run, a move designed to combat increasingly sophisticated cheating methods and protect fair play.

"As cheat developers keep evolving their tactics, we're stepping up our game too," EA said in its Battlefield 2042 changelog.

The change specifically targets cheats that try to load during the Windows boot process. The developers note it only works on hardware supporting Secure Boot, which most rigs do since the feature has existed since 2011. Initially, Microsoft designed Secure Boot to detect low-level malware loading during startup by verifying digital signatures, and it's had some mishaps in recent years.

Most recently, game developers have used Secure Boot to detect cheaters. Valorant was among the first to implement these checks, with mixed results. The anti-cheat method generally worked as intended, but many users reported it bricking their game. Whether all those reports were honest is unclear – cheaters often lie to regain access. However, even a small percentage of legitimate players getting cut off or banned due to technical issues doesn't sit well with the community.

Several controversial anti-cheat clashes have flared up, especially over demands for kernel-level access. Valorant's Vanguard system requires Ring 0 privileges, but it's not just Riot Games and EA caught in the crossfire. Most major multiplayer games, including Fortnite, use invasive anti-cheat software. It's a price players pay to enjoy these games – without it, cheating runs rampant and ruins the experience for everyone.

Even with mitigation methods in place, developers still struggle with the problem. Last year, cheaters disrupted the Apex Legends Global Series. At least two contestants suddenly found themselves using cheats they didn't install. Ironically, outside hackers had taken over their computers. Officials subsequently postponed the event while operators secured the servers.

While new anti-cheat measures may frustrate some legitimate players, developers must prioritize protecting gameplay for the good of the community. Most players with Secure Boot enabled in other games experience no issues, and any hiccups tend to affect only a small fraction of the gaming population.

Most modern systems ship with Secure Boot enabled by default, but Battlefield will display a popup if it isn't. Players unfamiliar with tinkering with BIOS settings can find step-by-step instructions on EA's help pages or check out the video above.

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EA updates Battlefield 2024 anti-cheat mitigation to require Windows Secure Boot

 

[FaTaL]

EA updates Battlefield 2024 anti-cheat mitigation to require Windows Secure Boot

Fix your headline. It should be Battlefield 2042.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

This will stop absolutely nothing. Typical EA.

 

[NumberNine]

Judging by player count, the stakes have never been lower.

 

[candle86]

Does EA not know how secure boot works it's a certificate what it can be self-signed you can put Windows into developer mode self-sign your own secure boot certificate and everybody else allows you to use a third party certificate authority other than Microsoft as a valid certificate this is how malware's been bypassing secure boot anyway don't think we're going to be stopped by this or people to don't do any research at all.

Not that I want to help EA because I don't but a smarter approach should be requiring memory isolation turned on, while setting the application itself using the windows 11 API the signal to protected as DRM you can even tell it to only talk over the DHCP which also could prevent external monitoring programs from interacting with it as a matter of fact it's not most of them for being able to interact because if your isolating the memory region encrypted with the DHCP protocol they can't decrypt the memory for the program so they can't break through the DHCP Christians so they can't interact with the screen but don't tell EA this

 

[MSIGamer]

Does EA not know how secure boot works it's a certificate what it can be self-signed you can put Windows into developer mode self-sign your own secure boot certificate and everybody else allows you to use a third party certificate authority other than Microsoft as a valid certificate this is how malware's been bypassing secure boot anyway don't think we're going to be stopped by this or people to don't do any research at all.

Not that I want to help EA because I don't but a smarter approach should be requiring memory isolation turned on, while setting the application itself using the windows 11 API the signal to protected as DRM you can even tell it to only talk over the DHCP which also could prevent external monitoring programs from interacting with it as a matter of fact it's not most of them for being able to interact because if your isolating the memory region encrypted with the DHCP protocol they can't decrypt the memory for the program so they can't break through the DHCP Christians so they can't interact with the screen but don't tell EA this

That'd be a nightmare for streaming though, will certainly cause different backlash.
One way or another the paying customer is screwed the most by all these measures that treat players like potential criminals.

 

[candle86]

That'd be a nightmare for streaming though, will certainly cause different backlash.
One way or another the paying customer is screwed the most by all these measures that treat players like potential criminals.

That's true I'm just laughing at the stupidity that they think this is actually going to do anything.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

Does EA not know how secure boot works it's a certificate what it can be self-signed you can put Windows into developer mode self-sign your own secure boot certificate and everybody else allows you to use a third party certificate authority other than Microsoft as a valid certificate this is how malware's been bypassing secure boot anyway don't think we're going to be stopped by this or people to don't do any research at all.

Not that I want to help EA because I don't but a smarter approach should be requiring memory isolation turned on, while setting the application itself using the windows 11 API the signal to protected as DRM you can even tell it to only talk over the DHCP which also could prevent external monitoring programs from interacting with it as a matter of fact it's not most of them for being able to interact because if your isolating the memory region encrypted with the DHCP protocol they can't decrypt the memory for the program so they can't break through the DHCP Christians so they can't interact with the screen but don't tell EA this

This is dEiA we're talking about.