Hacker claims The Conduit 'virtually unprotected,' easy to foil

by JC Fletcher { Jul 16th 2009 at 9:05AM }

A hacker by the name of "hetoan2" claims that it is relatively simple to alter variables in High Voltage's Wii FPS, The Conduit, allowing cheaters to attain infinite ammo, health, invisibility from radar, and other beneficial but unfair advantages -- even online. You can see some of the hacks in action in a video on hetoan2's site.

"Everything is virtually unprotected," hetoan2 discovered when he dumped the game's data and opened it up in a remote debugging program. "All values can be edited fairly easily, and there's virtually no sign of an attempt at hiding values, fixing bugs, or preventing online hackers." hetoan2 said that hacking the online version is as easy as hacking the offline version, because the code is completely identical. "The only difference is in the online mode the game sends the variables in real-time to their server."

hetoan2 released some patch codes for The Conduit, but initially altered them to corrupt the save files of anyone using them. Now, he told The Wiire, he's working with High Voltage to identify cheaters, whose MAC addresses are currently being sent to Nintendo for banning.

Gallery: The Conduit

Tags: cheating, fps, hacking, high-voltage, sega, the-conduit

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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Todd @ Jul 16th 2009 9:18AM

That's not a bug, it's a feature.

Brodo @ Jul 16th 2009 12:55PM

LOL online cheating is fun. I have homebrew and the ocarnia cheat application and I cheat online on mario kart all the time. Different buttons on the GC controller give me items and its a blast!
I usually use a mega mushroom and then star power and block off a bridge. The funny thing is that most ppl stay because I guess its kinda fun trying to escape my wrath!

Dr. Stabbingworth @ Jul 16th 2009 1:16PM

One day you're going to find a game that you really like, that you enjoy playing without cheating. Probably when you grow up some. And some little douchebag is going to cheat and ruin the game for you.

I hope you remember how much fun it is to cheat in Mario Kart then.

Brodo @ Jul 16th 2009 3:50PM

Dude its a game! And I dont have to worry about little kids ruining fun online games for me becasue microsoft actually has control over their online system.
The times that a cheater does come is rare, and when it happens its hilarious. Just like me on mario kart. So you can shut up. Like on halo 2 someone would make me spawn on the roof and they were flying around in a warthog. I wasnt mad, I laughed. CALM DOWN

Rob @ Jul 16th 2009 9:19AM

I bet someone is going to throw a fit over this.

SoulBlade @ Jul 16th 2009 9:19AM

"... hacking the online version is as easy as hacking the offline version, because the code is completely identical."

Can't fault them for code reuse :) Definitely can fault them for writing bad code though.

That's the thing... I wonder how many developers out there don't think too carefully about security since they feel like the console is a closed box. Definitely not that way anymore..

Rob @ Jul 16th 2009 9:23AM

I think they believe that the user base of the Wii doesn't know how to hack. This shows they have never heard of the Twilight Hack or any of the things people use to get around the Wii's region lock, among other things.

Evan @ Jul 16th 2009 11:38AM

It's not necessarily bad. They probably did it like that because they knew that it would be hacked eventually and decided to keep the game fast by compiling it without any obfuscation.

Who is *really* at fault here is Nintendo for developing such a bad multiplayer API. They actually thought it was *ok* to allow clients to modify stuff like this when all those variables/etc should be stored on the server. If anyone modifies them, their game will reflect the changes but the server will not, and you will still have to play like a normal player, with the exception of the wallhack maybe. This is how it is done in Quake 3, and works amazingly well. If the server says you get hit, or can't fly, or aren't invincible, then that is how it is. The only way it would ever work is in single player.

Another thing that pisses me off about Nintendo is that they actually allow one hacked client to send action commands to another client, and the other client will actually obey them. For one, no client should ever be allowed to send commands or even packets to another in a client-server architecture like this. This is what gives cheaters the ability to make your character spazz out and move around wildly as if you're hitting random buttons. It happens in Conduit, and in Brawl.

Tiptup300 @ Jul 16th 2009 12:44PM

Depends which console. Wii's really the only vulnerable right now.

patberg @ Jul 16th 2009 9:22AM

Hackers that cheat like this should be punished with a good old school public stoning. Both for being bad people by cheating for the sake of annoying other people, and for thinking anyone cared about an online shooter for the Wii. Even the developer didnt care enough to put in security on their code!

Akuma FTW @ Jul 16th 2009 9:42AM

I was with you till you said bad things about shooters on the Wii. When the Wii first came out I said "they are going to port all the old-school light gun games and it will be awesome". Its sentiment such as your last comment that has prevented such awesomeness from occuring

nukee @ Jul 16th 2009 10:23AM

I don't think you sprinkled enough fail on that comment.

jynxycat @ Jul 16th 2009 11:57AM

Um, did you read the article ?

Or did you make random comments just because you thought it would work out ?

knor @ Jul 16th 2009 9:22AM

Aren't hackers supposed to stick it to the man, not find a loophole then work for them?

or have I seen the movie Hackers too many times?

Rob @ Jul 16th 2009 9:25AM

Some hackers actually work with companies to find stuff like this and prevent others from exploiting it. A steady pay check is better then wondering it the FBI/Interpol is going to break down your door.

R (XBL: Esoteric Lord) @ Jul 16th 2009 9:35AM

*Thinks whistfully of the days when people knew the difference between hackers and crackers, before the media screwed it all up.*

WINterfang @ Jul 16th 2009 9:59AM

You are thinking of the days between you and your select groups or friends knew the difference.

Markusdragon @ Jul 16th 2009 10:04AM

Black hats are the exploiters, white hats are the defenders IIRC.

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 16th 2009 10:05AM

Yeah, I don't think the general populace has ever recognized the difference between a hacker and a cracker.

Sad.

knor @ Jul 16th 2009 10:30AM

Oh I know the difference between whitehats and blackhats, I suppose I was just under the impression that once if you were a white/blackhat you stayed that way, unless you are trying to shoehorn yourself into the business as I suppose hetoan2 is trying to do.

And I'm fairly certain that he went from "cracker" to "hacker" once he changed the code to give him infinite ammo, etc. And doubly so once he did this in an online game.

Again I could be wrong, but that is just what I assumed. And all this discussion stemming from the fact that I was trying to make a joke, albiet a bad one at that.

Vidikron @ Jul 16th 2009 10:37AM

I like saltines.

grover96 @ Jul 16th 2009 11:04AM

Well, me and my friends Acid Burn, Crash Override and Lord Nikon are going against The Plaugue...does that make us crackers or HACKERS?

Thief @ Jul 16th 2009 11:46AM

HACK THE PLANET!!!

THEY'RE TRASHING OUR RIGHTS!!!

TRASHING!!! TRASHING!!! TRASHING!!!

dark_inchworm (on Steam!) dark inchworm (on XBL!) @ Jul 16th 2009 11:58AM

lol

"Hackers" is either awesome in an awful way or awful in an awesome way.

charlie b. @ Jul 16th 2009 12:24PM

all this talk is making me hungry for cheese and crackers.

Jack Hollow @ Jul 16th 2009 9:24AM

So this guy got a job outta hacking a game? Instead of the usual ban hammer people drop on such actions? If more companies did this, perhaps online cheaters would be reduced by much larger numbers. As it is, banning someone is just an inconvenience. Someone will eventually find away around it. Though the same can be said for patching hacks in your game, but turning the cheater into someone who helps prevent such actions I would think would have much better results than just banning and yelling "no soup for you."

SoulBlade @ Jul 16th 2009 9:26AM

problem is most cheaters probably don't know how to fix the cheats. they just know how to do it because some guy out there put the steps online

Monkeys Suck @ Jul 16th 2009 9:31AM

The difference is that he MADE the hacks, understand how they work, and can probably help with a way to fix it. Usually the ones who get banned just use them with no understanding of how it works or what is going on behind the scenes.

beener @ Jul 16th 2009 9:28AM

Good thing we have big, popular aggregation sites to make cheats in online games available to the masses.

Damnit.

baby sea tuna @ Jul 16th 2009 10:20AM

That was my first thought. Then my second was that I don't have this game so I really don't care.

Aero @ Jul 16th 2009 9:43AM

Wait, so the guy releases the codes then works with High Voltage to get the code users banned?
Surely it would easier to not release the code but still work with High Voltage on them anyway?

Rob @ Jul 16th 2009 9:48AM

From the looks of it he released it with stuff to fuck up the games of anyone using it. So he decided to punish them for their cheating ways.

Sly @ Jul 16th 2009 3:41PM

yeah, he's just f*ckin with em. like how his first release would delete saves.

Arikado @ Jul 16th 2009 10:01AM

Joystiq,

You refuse to report on true Wii homebrew/hacking news such as Harmonium (see the video here) and BootMii and yet you'll report on stuff like piracy (Wii and Gamecube Backups) and (referring to this article) a guy who can change a few zeroes in a .txt file to ones (and then change from binary to hex with two clicks in his hex editor).

I used to enjoy your Wii homebrew/hacking coverage when you closely followed the guys at hackmii and reported on original homebrew stuff like supersonic Wii, but lately (during what could be considered to be a golden age of innovative and original Wii Homebrew/Hacks) you've been completely ignoring new developments.

What I'm trying to say is, I really enjoy your site but please don't ruin your homebrew coverage popularizing mostly cheating and piracy. Go back to the way you once were, or just (for the sake of people truly involved in the scene like myself) completely quit.

/rant

Arikado @ Jul 16th 2009 10:03AM

Apparently Joystiq comments won't accept a html tags. Here's the links I was trying to post.

Latest vid of Harmonium: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=758vL22E5EY
BootMii: http://bootmii.org

DangerMouse @ Jul 16th 2009 10:34AM

You come to joystiq for hacking/homebrew news? Really?

Arikado @ Jul 16th 2009 10:39AM

Of course not. My point is that they do a horrible job of covering it lately. For hacking/homebrewing news I use http://www.wiibrew.org and http://www.tehskeen.com

Vidikron @ Jul 16th 2009 10:42AM

In case you haven't noticed, they almost never cover the PSP or DS homebrew scenes either. Maybe a rare article here and there, but nothing extensive.

Arikado @ Jul 16th 2009 10:49AM

Unfortunately I've noticed. To be fair though, the PSP scene is way to complicated lately (to hack a virgin PSP) unless you want to devote writing, updating, and supporting guides of how to hack your PSP. And the current DS homebrew scene revolves around running homebrew with flashcarts and Joystiq appears to have a strong policy condemning all news supporting them. (However there were quite a few homebrew on flashcarts articles and even a how-to guide on the old DS Fanboy)

Rob @ Jul 16th 2009 10:59AM

@Arikado

Maybe someone is putting pressure on them not to cover it, although this is highly speculative.

Reader @ Jul 16th 2009 10:59AM

I almost never see any homebrew stuff for any console posted on joystiq, why should the Wii be different?

Arikado @ Jul 16th 2009 11:05AM

@Rob:
Wouldn't surprise me. There clearly has been less news since they became Joystiq.

@Reader:
My point is that if they are going to choose to cover it, don't cover the warez and cheating crap; Cover the "true homebrew". If not, don't cover it at all (and quite frankly, that wouldn't bug me as much as only seeing articles like these does).

Mr Khan is over 9000 @ Jul 16th 2009 11:20AM

The old Fanboy pages were quite excellent about following that scene, or at least those aspects of it that were significant.

Those days are gone, now.

Arikado @ Jul 16th 2009 11:24AM

I remember...

In fact, I first heard about Wii Hacking from Wii Fanboy.

Damon @ Jul 16th 2009 10:02AM

I never understood why people cheat at online games. It's supposed to be competetive and fun. Steamrolling over everyone seems like a completely hollow and pointless victory to me.

Then again, a lot of people do it specifically to piss people off. Apparently making other people's lives unhappier is cause for pleasure.