AUG. 4, 2011 • The International Crime Investigation Unit of the Seoul Police revealed the results of an investigation that linked North Korean nationals operating from China to hacking schemes that exploited South Korean online game servers to accumulate virtual assets that could be converted into cash. The young computer hackers, graduates of elite North Korean science universities, were said to have generated 6.4 billion won ($6 million) in hard currency in two years. The police in Seoul accused a shadowy department of the North Korean Communist Party, Office 39, of being behind the hacking. Office 39 is reported to be tasked with generating hard currency for the regime from foreign sources.
Impact: On the scale of dastardly methods the North Korean government could employ to generate cash, we must admit that hacking game servers is much more preferable to selling nuclear weapons components. As the micro-transaction model continues to gain market share, publishers need to become more proactive than reactive in locking out exploits that often can negatively impact paying customers.
