Chinese Hackers Threatening Korean Game Sites

Hackers from China are responsible for an annual loss of around $ 200 billion ($ 208 million). These hackers use phony names in online games and transact cyber items for real cash.

No solution has been found against Chinese hackers who thieve sign-in identities and passwords of Korean players. Hacking programs can steal personal details and is found embedded in some Websites. When a net user visits this site, these hacking programs secretly creep into the system and infect it.

Installed malware allows the hacker to locate the login name & password of the online game. It then sends back the stolen information to Chinese Websites via email. Chinese hackers design these programs to steal the online games' virtual items from Korean players.

As per the police sources, there are around 30000-50000 hackers operating in China in trading Lineage items of online games to Korean gamers. Hundreds of PCs are being used to collect and sell the items. The facility where these PCs are used has yet traced by police.

Kim Young-sun of Grand National Party told that after tracing crucial IP addresses, she came to know that 70% of the hacks originated in China. In July, 82% of hacking efforts were from China.

The type of target sites is also changing. Once, the hacking was confined to homepages of media or cable TV and game portals, but now public services have also been included. Public services comprise of 2 public broadcasters, 1 education office, university websites and 2 local governments. Over 100 Websites comprising of sports papers and terrestrial broadcasters unknowingly inflicted the damage as they reacted very late or did not reacted at all.

To control the damage to online games, the government introduced an anti-hacking program. But according to the critics, it fails to reach the core of problem. To handle the problem at the roots, the government should make the item exchange legal to built safe sites that can be guarded by law. Korean sites need to seriously think about stopping the flow of cyber-money and person-to-person transfers of online items. This will keep the Chinese hackers away.

Related article: Chinese Malware Stealing Passwords

» SPAMfighter News - 10/27/2006