There is scandal in the world of E-Sports today. The E-Sports Entertainment Association recently embedded a bit of code in its software client that would secretly run a Bitcoin mining program in the background. The new software generated over $3,700 worth of the electronic currency without its users ever knowing, but the process can put a heavy strain on processors and motherboards. So, users are genuinely angry.
This news comes from the league’s co-founder and administrator, Eric “Ipkane” Thunberg: “So first the bad news, this is way more shady than I originally thought, and as the person who is ultimately responsible for everything it’s 100% my fault,” Thunberg wrote. He then went on to say that the client has been updated again to remove the mining code and all ESEA users will be getting a free premium subscription for one month as an apology.
As for the money, the ESEA will be donating it all to the American Cancer Society along with a matching donation of the same amount. So at least this malware was eventually put toward a good cause.
Now that E-Sports has its own financial scandal, we are one step closer to being just like normal sports.
Source: ArsTechnica