How Kernel Anti-Cheats Work: A Deep Dive into Modern Game Protection

This article provides a deep dive into how modern kernel-level anti-cheat systems work on Windows, explaining why usermode protections are insufficient and how anti-cheats moved to ring 0 kernel drivers to combat increasingly sophisticated cheats. It covers the escalating arms race between cheat developers and anti-cheat engineers, from kernel cheats and BYOVD attacks to hypervisor-level evasion and PCIe DMA bypasses.