Preventing Mobile Game Cheating by Blocking Rooted Devices Application Case of Mobile App Security LIAPP
A Choice for Fair Gaming
Anyone who has experience developing or operating a mobile game has probably been concerned about the issue of ‘cheating’ at least once. Cheating that breaks the game balance, gives unfair advantages to other users, and ultimately destroys the trust of the entire game community.
The most representative method among them is system hacking using rooted devices.
Today, we will introduce a real case where we introduced ‘mobile security service LIAPP’ to solve this problem and applied rooting detection and execution restriction functions to effectively block cheating.
What is a rooted device? Why is it dangerous?
Rooting generally refers to an act in which a user (or hacker) directly acquires system privileges of the Android operating system (OS) that are restricted by the manufacturer or carrier. Rooting causes the following risks:
• Modification of system files and security policy bypass
• Free execution of cheating tools or memory hacking apps
• Manipulation of internal data of game apps or encryption bypass
• Bypassing in-app purchases, creating unlimited resources using hacking tools, etc.
In other words, it is no exaggeration to say that any security device can be breached on a rooted device.
Real-life case: Spread of cheating in a rooted environment
As a result of tracking the logs, commonalities were revealed:
• Execution on a rooted device
• Use of memory manipulation tools
• Forgery of internal scripts and asset data
Ultimately, they were cheating by manipulating game resources in a rooted environment without permission to achieve rapid growth and high rankings, widening the gap with normal users.
Successful blocking of cheating by introducing LIAPP
The game company in question recognized the seriousness of the situation and quickly introduced **LIAPP, a mobile app security solution**.
LIAPP provides various security features optimized for mobile games, and is particularly strong in rooting detection and execution restriction functions.
Applied security features
1) Rooting detection and app execution blocking
• Automatically blocks apps when running on rooted devices
• Precisely detects rooting traces such as su binary, BusyBox, and Magisk
• Detects rooting bypass attempts and completely blocks them
2) Detection of cheating tools and hacking apps
• Detects popular cheating tools such as GameGuardian, CheatEngine, and Lucky Patcher
• Immediately terminates the app or displays a warning when a hacking tool is detected while the app is running
• Records cheating attempt history on the server → Used as a basis for user sanctions
3) Added user response logic for abnormal environments
• Provides users with the reason and induces recovery when rooting is detected
• Minimizes backlash with flexible security UX configuration rather than disabling the app
Developer interview
“In the past, one cheater could shake up the entire server. Now, after introducing LIAPP, that risk has almost disappeared, and the operation team can focus on its original role.”
Changes after applying security
About a month after applying security, there were the following positive changes:
• 100% blocking of cheating attempts based on rooted devices
• Increased satisfaction of normal users due to sanctions on hacking users
• Recovery of game ratings, increased reliability on Google Play Store
• Many favorable comments on “securing fairness” in the community and SNS
Above all, the biggest achievement was that it laid the foundation for normal users to stay longer without leaving.
Security is the first step toward fairness
In mobile games, ‘fun’ and ‘competition’ are inseparable elements. However, if the basis of competition is unfair, the game will never last long. In particular, rooting and cheating are very dangerous elements that can lead to not only loss of sales for a company, but also loss of normal users and damage to the brand image.
LIAPP can be applied quickly without complex development, and it is a smart choice that can build a security ecosystem for the game by combining various security features.
Real security is blocking the entire cheating environment, rather than blocking one cheating user. As in the case introduced today, the fairness and user experience of the game can be greatly improved with just the rooting detection and execution restriction functions. If you are a mobile game operator, take your security to the next level right now with ‘LIAPP’.
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