13 Million Online Gamers Accounts' Attacked

By siliconindia   |   Tuesday, 29 November 2011, 18:52 IST
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Bangalore: Personal data of more than 13 million online gamers of Nexon Korea Corp had been hacked in South Korea. The Korea Communications Commission (KCC) informed.

Nexon Korea Corp is one of the top online game developers of South Korea. Communications regulator said that the company found out a leakage of personal information of 13.1 million subscribers of its Maple Story online game. Nexon reported the hacking attack to the commission last week.

Korea Communications Commission said together with the police and computer security experts, the inquiry on the hacking case is on progress. The leaked records would be user IDs, names, resident registration numbers and passwords, KCC report says. Even though all the data leaked are scrambled and locked during the electronic transfer, the subscribers asked to alter their passwords for avoiding further harm. However the hackers could not gain any information on the financial transactions or bank account numbers, of the subscribers. The official made it clear that their foreign subscribers would not be affected.

The leakage happened just few weeks before Nexon’s plan to go for a public offering on Tokyo Stock Exchange on 14, December .Through the IPO, Nexon Korea Corp intends to increase more than $1.2 billion. Nexon’s stocks are the most awaited stocks on the Tokyo Stock Exchange this year. Reportedly this hacking attack is the biggest of this kind of online security violation after the leakage of 35 million users of SK Comms Internet portal and blogging site in China. 

Online games, Maple Story and Kart Rider, of Nexon elevated its name internationally fame. And today, Nexon stands as the one of the two prominent online game developers of South Korea. 

After the unexpected online security breach, South Korea is to master plan its cyber security to protect global agencies, companies and its economic institutions from further attacks.