{"id":2014,"date":"2022-02-17T11:14:46","date_gmt":"2022-02-17T18:14:46","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/?p=2014"},"modified":"2022-02-17T11:14:51","modified_gmt":"2022-02-17T18:14:51","slug":"malware-found-hidden-in-cities-skylines-mod","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wpsites.ucalgary.ca\/isec-601-f21\/2022\/02\/17\/malware-found-hidden-in-cities-skylines-mod\/","title":{"rendered":"Malware found hidden in Cities: Skylines mod"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Cities: Skylines is a video game that allows players to design and manage cities. The game is available for many different gaming platforms, including PC, XBOX, Nintendo Switch and Play-Station 4 (1). Cities: Skylines is one of three city-building games created by the Finnish video game developers Colossal Order (2). The game developers allow the community to create \u201cmods\u201d for other users to download. A game mod (short for modification) is an add-on that alters the game in some way.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot of the game from the Colossal Order website https:\/\/www.citiesskylines.com\/en<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

On Monday a \u201cmodder\u201d (someone who creates game mods) was banned from the gaming platform Steam for accusations of hiding malware in their mods. The user goes by the name \u201cChaos\u201d or \u201cHoly Water\u201d (3). Chaos is accused of hiding a software auto-updater in some of their game mods. The auto-updater would allow Chaos to deliver more malware to infected computers without the consent of the user (3, 4). The malicious mods are an example of a Trojan horse because the malicious software is hidden inside something that seems innocent otherwise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSadly I think this kind of bad behaviour is present in all modding communities\u2026 It\u2019s why, as sad as it is for the little guy who just made an awesome mod I might never try, I tend to stick to larger, well known and trusted modders\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>MeatSafeMurderer, Reddit<\/cite><\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

The malicious mods are \u201cNetwork Extensions 3\u201d and \u201cUpdate from Github\u201d (4). These mods are not original pieces, they are updates for pre-existing game mods, of which Chaos is not the original author (3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Last year Chaos published an update to the popular Cities: Skylines mod Harmony. The update was designed to be incompatible with other versions of the mod. After its release, players would have no choice but to use Chaos\u2019s version of Harmony.\u00a0 In addition, most Cities: Skylines mods need Harmony to run. A large portion of players would need to download Chaos’s update (3).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Members of the Cities: Skyline Reddit page have expressed how frustrating it can be to have someone maliciously tamper with a game mod you developed (5). Reddit user\u00a0MeatSafeMurderer\u00a0<\/em>says that this behaviour makes it difficult for small game developers to succeed. \u201cSadly I think this kind of bad behaviour is present in all modding communities\u2026 It\u2019s why, as sad as it is for the little guy who just made an awesome mod I might never try, I tend to stick to larger, well known and trusted modders\u201d.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Events like this one instill distrust in the community, perhaps rightfully so. Events like this should remind users to be diligent with their computer security, but as\u00a0MeatSafeMurderer\u00a0<\/em>pointed out, this distrust means that small developers will have a difficult time sharing their work.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you are a Cities: Skyline user and are worried that you may be affected, check out this<\/a> Reddit post with information on how to remove the mods from your computer.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A new Steam account has been created, claiming to be the user behind Chaos. This account claims that it is not the Chaos mods that have malware, but rather the Cities: Skyline code itself. The account name:\u00a0I found Colossal Order Keylogger<\/em>\u00a0succinctly describes the accusations. Outside of this Steam account, no concerns have surfaced about security in the game code.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Screenshot of the new Steam account, claiming that there is malware in the Cities: Skyline code. https:\/\/steamcommunity.com\/id\/brownMM<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

References:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. https:\/\/www.paradoxinteractive.com\/games\/cities-skylines\/about<\/a><\/li>
  2. https:\/\/www.colossalorder.fi\/<\/a><\/li>
  3. https:\/\/threatpost.com\/cities-skylines-modder-banned-over-hidden-malware\/178403\/<\/a><\/li>
  4. https:\/\/store.steampowered.com\/news\/app\/255710\/view\/6047774523920146831<\/a><\/li>
  5. https:\/\/old.reddit.com\/r\/CitiesSkylines\/comments\/sq5k4v\/important_information_about_network_extensions_3\/<\/a><\/li><\/ol>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Cities: Skylines is a video game that allows players to design and manage cities. The game is available for many different gaming platforms, including PC, XBOX, Nintendo Switch and Play-Station 4 (1). Cities: Skylines is one of three city-building games created by the Finnish video game developers Colossal Order (2). The game developers allow the … <\/p>\n

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