Anti-Cheat Expert

Anti-Cheat Expert
Basic Information
Release Year	2005
Product Type	Anti-cheat Software
In Production	Yes
Official Website	https://intl.anticheatexpert.com/

Anti-Cheat Expert commonly abbreviated as "ACE" is an modular anti-cheat system developed by Tencent, that initially released in 2005 as a anti-bot solution for Free Fantasy Online. ^[1]

ACE provides cheat prevention for PC as well as Android ^[2] and iOS ^[3] however the mobile versions do not run at the Kernel level and operate a lot less invasively then the PC version ACE also offers server side solutions ^[4] and moderation tools ^[5] h

ACE on PC is a modular kernel level anti-cheat that allows game developers to enable or disable certain features such as the anti-cheat running 24/7 as well as add their own game specific checks.

Consumer impact summary

Overview of concerns that arise from the conduct towards users of the product:

Privacy: ACE on PC is a kernel-level (ring 0) anti-cheat meaning it has access to everything on your computer. and depending on the game publishers configuration it could be a 24/7 anti cheat similar to Riot Vanguard. ACE is also loads multiple drivers based on what features game publishers enable. Anti-Cheat Expert is owned by Tencent which has strong ties with the Chinese government.
Control: If a game publisher uses the chooses ACE will be running from computer startup, even when not playing.
Access: As a kernel-level anti-cheat on PC, Anti-Cheat Expert has the highest level of access to your computer.

Incidents

Concerns

Chinese Government Ties

ACE is created by Tencent which has close ties to the Chinese Government and is bound by Chinese laws ^[6]

Technical Implications

The kernel-level access combined with potential government compulsion is particularly concerning because:

Ring 0 access provides complete system control.
Users cannot monitor or restrict ACE's activities at this level.
Depending on the game the anti-cheat maybe be running 24/7 which means the system is potentially vulnerable even when not gaming.
The software could theoretically be used as a backdoor if compelled by authorities.
The software could have a negative performance impact even when doing other if the game publishers has chosen the driver to run 24/7

Privacy and Security Assurances

Community Response

References

[1] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Cheat_Expert

[2] ttps://intl.anticheatexpert.com/products/anti-cheat-android

[3] ttps://intl.anticheatexpert.com/products/anti-cheat-ios

[4] ttps://intl.anticheatexpert.com/products/economy-risk-management

[5] ttps://intl.anticheatexpert.com/products/content-moderation

[6] ttps://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anti-Cheat_Expert

[1]

[2]

[3]

[4]

[5]

[6]