Insurgency: Sandstorm Anti-Cheat

Kernel-level Easy Anti-Cheat, permanent bans for any cheat program, reports backed by match replays, and community servers whose admins can ban you themselves.

Published by GCS Cheats under our editorial policy. Last reviewed 1 November 2026.

In plain EnglishThis page explains the anti-cheat that protects Insurgency - the system that tries to catch and ban cheaters. It covers how strict that system is and how cheats try to stay hidden from it. No cheat is ever 100% safe, so always check a product's status before you buy.

What anti-cheat does Insurgency: Sandstorm use?

Insurgency: Sandstorm uses Easy Anti-Cheat, a kernel-level anti-cheat that loads a Windows driver with deep system access. Caught cheaters get an account ban, and our database rates its detection strength low. The guide below covers how it detects, what a ban really costs and what kind of build survives.

Insurgency: Sandstorm is New World Interactive’s tactical shooter, with PvP battles of up to 14 v 14 and co-op missions against AI. Its Steam page lists Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC) as a kernel-level anti-cheat. The studio used BattlEye in its earlier games, Insurgency (2014) and Day of Infamy, but chose EAC for Sandstorm.

Player support now runs through Saber Interactive’s help centre for the game. Its Community Guidelines are blunt: any unauthorised third-party program ends in a permanent ban from EAC, and Saber can also ban players by hand.

How Easy Anti-Cheat works in Insurgency

EAC must be installed with the game and allowed to run. It looks for cheat software on your PC while Sandstorm is open. The studio says it can also flag untrusted system files, debuggers and custom scripts. In September 2022, after more players reported cheaters, it pushed an extra EAC update.

Reports carry weight because matches leave replays. To report a cheater, players copy the match’s replay ID from the History menu and the suspect’s Steam ID from the scoreboard, then note roughly when the cheating happens. Cross-play can also put PC players in matches with PlayStation and Xbox players.

What an Insurgency ban actually means

Saber’s guidelines say hacks, cheats, scripts, bots and automation programs all end in a permanent ban issued by EAC, and call this zero tolerance. Exploits such as leaving the map’s boundaries or knowingly abusing a bug get an account suspension instead.

Neither the studio nor Saber has said that bans reach hardware, so a ban is an account matter. Appeals go to EAC or through Saber’s contact form, and the studio said EAC usually answers in 3 to 14 days. Community servers ban separately: since Update 1.11, a banned player is told the ban’s length and reason.

Detection track record

We rate Insurgency: Sandstorm "Low" on client detection. EAC is kernel-level, but neither the studio nor Saber publishes ban numbers, and Saber’s own EAC page admits that some hacks "slip through the cracks".

The bigger risk is the replay. A report with a replay ID and a time lets staff watch exactly what you did, and Saber says the length of a ban is up to the staff who review the report. On a community server, an admin can also ban you whatever EAC decides.

Cheating in Insurgency safely

In Sandstorm, knowing where the enemy is matters more than aiming fast. ESP for players and placed explosives does more for you than an aimbot, and it is harder to spot in a replay than shots that snap to heads.

Keep aim help subtle and avoid kills that only make sense through a wall, because a replay will show them. Learn a community server’s rules before you play there. The Insurgency: Sandstorm build we keep current is below.

Insurgency builds in the store

One Insurgency build is on sale right now, listed by how each one runs according to its own description.

Type not stated: Fecurity Insurgency Sandstorm

Insurgency anti-cheat FAQ

What anti-cheat does Insurgency: Sandstorm use?

Easy Anti-Cheat. Its Steam page lists EAC as kernel-level, and EAC must be installed with the game. The studio used BattlEye in its earlier games but switched to EAC for Sandstorm.

Can community servers ban you in Insurgency: Sandstorm?

Yes. Community server bans are separate from EAC. Since Update 1.11, a player banned from a community server gets a message with the ban’s length and reason.

Are Insurgency: Sandstorm bans permanent?

For cheats, yes. Saber’s guidelines say unauthorised third-party programs end in a permanent ban issued by EAC. Exploits get a suspension instead.

How do you appeal an EAC ban in Insurgency: Sandstorm?

Through EAC’s ban appeal form, or Saber’s contact form. The studio said EAC usually replies in 3 to 14 days, and that sending several tickets can slow the answer down.

Sources

Official pages for the systems this guide describes. They are the primary sources for how Easy Anti-Cheat works and how bans are issued; the detection ratings and build guidance are our own editorial assessment, explained in the editorial policy.

This guide is informational and reflects how Easy Anti-Cheat and Insurgency bans generally work; anti-cheats update constantly, so treat every detail as a moving target rather than a guarantee. Last reviewed 1 November 2026.

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