EGW-NewsFortnite Expands Anti-Cheat To Require Secure Boot, TPM, And IOMMU
Fortnite Expands Anti-Cheat To Require Secure Boot, TPM, And IOMMU
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Fortnite Expands Anti-Cheat To Require Secure Boot, TPM, And IOMMU

Epic Games will expand its anti-cheat system requirements for the PC version of Fortnite on February 19. The update will mandate that players in all tournaments enable three specific hardware security features to help prevent cheating. These features are Secure Boot, a Trusted Platform Module (TPM), and an Input-Output Memory Management Unit (IOMMU). I see this as a significant step to ensure a fair competitive environment for all players. Most modern PCs, particularly those compatible with Windows 11, are expected to meet these requirements already, though some users may need to enable the settings in their system’s BIOS.

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The new requirements include Secure Boot, TPM, and IOMMU. While many users are familiar with the first two, as they are prerequisites for Windows 11, the IOMMU might be less known. It is a motherboard component that acts as an intermediary between the system memory and connected devices, such as those on a PCIe slot. Its purpose is to map virtual memory addresses to physical ones and prevent untrusted hardware from accessing system memory before the operating system fully loads. This measure has become more critical following the discovery of a vulnerability that could allow memory to be hijacked via a PCIe device during the boot process.

This potential security flaw prompted major motherboard manufacturers, including Asus, Gigabyte, MSI, and ASRock, to release important BIOS updates a couple of months ago. Following these updates, Riot Games made them a requirement to play Valorant, a game that already relied on IOMMU to verify memory and allow only approved devices to interact with the game. The BIOS updates patched the window where this protection could be compromised. While Fortnite did not previously require IOMMU at all, this change brings its security measures more in line with other competitive titles.

Epic Games officially announced the change, stating:

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"On February 19, we’re expanding Fortnite’s Anti-Cheat system requirements for PC players to all tournaments, requiring three security features to be enabled: Secure Boot, TPM, and IOMMU. IOMMU is a security feature that helps the operating system control how hardware devices access system memory. This technology allows us to better protect our game memory from being accessed by cheat hardware."

It remains unclear if Fortnite will specifically require the latest BIOS updates that patch the IOMMU vulnerability, but keeping system firmware up-to-date is advisable. The other required features, TPM and Secure Boot, are already standard for many modern games and operating systems. A Trusted Platform Module is a secure cryptoprocessor, standardized as ISO/IEC 11889, designed to verify that a system's boot process is trusted and to securely store sensitive data like encryption keys. I do understand this is part of a larger industry trend.

Fortnite Expands Anti-Cheat To Require Secure Boot, TPM, And IOMMU 1

The first version of the TPM was deployed in 2003, and the specification has evolved since. The current standard, TPM 2.0, is not backward compatible with the older 1.2 version but addresses many of the same security concerns with a different architecture. It provides a hardware random number generator, facilities for secure cryptographic key generation, and a function called remote attestation. Remote attestation creates a nearly unforgeable hash of the hardware and software configuration, allowing a system to verify that its state has not been tampered with. This move places Fortnite among a growing number of games with strict hardware requirements tied to kernel-level anti-cheat systems, a list that includes titles like Valorant and Apex Legends.

Read also, Disney's incoming chief executive is outlining a vision for Fortnite that mirrors the company’s theme parks and retail strategy, positioning the game as a digital extension of its branded ecosystem. Josh D’Amaro, who will take over as CEO of The Walt Disney Company next month, has begun detailing how he views Fortnite within Disney’s broader business.

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