GTA 5 RP mod FiveM threatens to shut down servers over stolen assets

The team behind FiveM, the GTA RP mod that was acquired by Rockstar Games, has released a statement confirming a "security issue" has resulted in "bad actors" stealing modders' assets, which should've been protected and encrypted. Cfx.re says that it will be suspending any servers running stolen FiveM content for two weeks, and from today onwards, any repeat offenders may see their GTA 5 RP servers shut down permanently.

While there's lots of open resource sharing in the GTA 5 modding scene, some of the folks running popular or unique GTA RP servers may want their assets protected and kept under wraps. FiveM has tools that allow modders to encrypt their work and ensure it only runs on servers they've given permission to. However, a lapse in these systems has been exploited, causing assets to be stolen and, in a lot of cases, resold or integrated into other servers.

Following reports from community members over the last few days, Cfx.re has now officially acknowledged a fault in its security measures. "Recently, we identified a security issue in our asset escrow system that allowed bad actors to extract encrypted assets from the game client and bypass the safeguards designed to prevent those assets from being used by servers without the permission of the original creator," it says in a statement.

"We take the security of our platform extremely seriously, and our team is working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. A big thank you to all FiveM community members who reached out to alert us to the issue - we are, as always, grateful for your vigilance and support."

Cfx.re says that it is now investigating servers accused of using unauthorized, stolen assets, and that two-week suspensions will be dished out if found guilty. For anyone caught doing this more than once, the punishment will be even more severe.

"While we work on a fix, we are immediately implementing two-week suspensions to all servers who are confirmed to have used leaked assets without authorization from the original creator," it says. "Moving forward, any servers caught with leaked assets again will be permanently terminated. As a reminder, only Tebex-accredited creators are authorized resellers of FiveM and RedM assets. Please ensure any creators are Tebex accredited before making a purchase."

Despite an initially rocky relationship with Rockstar, Cfx.re was acquired by the company in 2023. FiveM is one of the most popular GTA 5 mods and a major player in the GTA RP scene, which in turn has helped keep GTA Online relevant and widely played on PC despite the game being over a decade old. It is speculated that Rockstar may be working on in-house modding and roleplaying tools for GTA 6 using Cfx.re's knowhow, but that's currently unconfirmed. With the game currently not expected to hit PC immediately when the GTA 6 release date arrives next May, we might not know about Rockstar's modding plans until later down the line. That is unless it manages to get official mod support on consoles, which the likes of Bethesda have proved is possible.

For more info on all things Grand Theft Auto, head to our friends at GTA Db. Alternatively, here are some of the best crime games you should play before GTA 6 arrives.

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