Taken from http://www.todayonline.com/articles/275243.asp

Hackers spoil MapleStory fun
Players, who have spent as much as $2,000 on the game, file police reports


Hedirman Supian


hedirman@mediacorp.com.sg


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HAVING sunk time and cold, hard cash into building up their virtual characters in an online game, some frustrated gamers have lodged a police report after seeing their accounts instantly depleted because of recent hacking incidents.
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IT engineer Jordan Tay, told Today he was trying to rally more gamers in online forums to file reports.
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“I’ve been playing the game for over two years, and I’ve spent over $700. Now all my time invested has gone down the drain,” he said. “I’m frustrated that AsiaSoft hadn’t done much to stop the hacking incidents.”
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In MapleStory (picture), gamers defeat monsters to increase the skills and abilities of their characters and earn the game’s currency.
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Character enhancements, or “assets”, can be bought from the game’s online shop or sold between players using the game’s currency or real-world cash. Items for sale include virtual pets, hats and shoes to change the appearance of their characters and weapons. A rare weapon, for instance, can cost up to $70.
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According to AsiaSoft Online, the game’s publisher and regional distributor, the game has 87 million accounts worldwide, with2 million accounts from Singapore alone.
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AsiaSoft marketing director Ng Kok Khwang said the online attacks took place in August. “We were under attack by Chinese hackers from China, and we have since blocked IP addresses from China and are monitoring the situation,” Mr Ng said.
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“We are conducting our investigation, and will assist the police if necessary.”
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Police told Today their investigations are ongoing.
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A rampant problem worldwide
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Mr Ng pointed out that “such incidents are quite rampant in successful MMORPGs (massively multi-player online role-playing games)”, and the problem is worldwide. AsiaSoft also distributes the popular World of Warcraft online game here.
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Another gamers’ favourite, Granado Espada, sees about five such hacking cases being reported every month, from countries like the Philippines and Malaysia. It has more than 118,000 players here.
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Ms Danielle Kuek, Granado Espada’s regional community manager, said incidents reported from Singapore are rare and mostly occur in countries where gamers are careless with their account details.
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“Most of the so-called hacking cases we encounter were due to users playing at certain cybercafés that have keyloggers or trojans,” she said. These are hidden computer programs that enable hackers to record or farm information from computer users.
.
Ms Kuek said gamers here are educated on how to safeguard their accounts by changing their passwords regularly and playing only at endorsed cybercafes.
.
Meanwhile, AsiaSoft is taking steps to prevent the problem from reoccurring, working with Korea-based game developer Nexon. “We upgraded our IT security measures, increased the number of firewalls for game servers with the latest technology, and are currently working with third-party expertise,” said Mr Ng.
.
“We’d like to reassure the community that security has been stepped up and new measures are in place to eradicate future attacks.”
.
Ms Young Siew Yim, a teacher, was one gamer who has filed a report with the police. She spent more than $2,000 over two years on MapleStory.
.
“I was careful not to do things that would reveal my password to hackers, yet my account was hacked. It’s AsiaSoft’sresponsibility to handle the problem. When I visited their support outlet, they could not do much to help me,” she said. “It’s a really nice game but I’ve got no mood to play.”
Players, who have spent as much as $2,000 on the game, file police reports


Hedirman Supian


hedirman@mediacorp.com.sg


.
.
HAVING sunk time and cold, hard cash into building up their virtual characters in an online game, some frustrated gamers have lodged a police report after seeing their accounts instantly depleted because of recent hacking incidents.
.
IT engineer Jordan Tay, told Today he was trying to rally more gamers in online forums to file reports.
.
“I’ve been playing the game for over two years, and I’ve spent over $700. Now all my time invested has gone down the drain,” he said. “I’m frustrated that AsiaSoft hadn’t done much to stop the hacking incidents.”
.
In MapleStory (picture), gamers defeat monsters to increase the skills and abilities of their characters and earn the game’s currency.
.
Character enhancements, or “assets”, can be bought from the game’s online shop or sold between players using the game’s currency or real-world cash. Items for sale include virtual pets, hats and shoes to change the appearance of their characters and weapons. A rare weapon, for instance, can cost up to $70.
.
According to AsiaSoft Online, the game’s publisher and regional distributor, the game has 87 million accounts worldwide, with2 million accounts from Singapore alone.
.
AsiaSoft marketing director Ng Kok Khwang said the online attacks took place in August. “We were under attack by Chinese hackers from China, and we have since blocked IP addresses from China and are monitoring the situation,” Mr Ng said.
.
“We are conducting our investigation, and will assist the police if necessary.”
.
Police told Today their investigations are ongoing.
.
.
A rampant problem worldwide
.
Mr Ng pointed out that “such incidents are quite rampant in successful MMORPGs (massively multi-player online role-playing games)”, and the problem is worldwide. AsiaSoft also distributes the popular World of Warcraft online game here.
.
Another gamers’ favourite, Granado Espada, sees about five such hacking cases being reported every month, from countries like the Philippines and Malaysia. It has more than 118,000 players here.
.
Ms Danielle Kuek, Granado Espada’s regional community manager, said incidents reported from Singapore are rare and mostly occur in countries where gamers are careless with their account details.
.
“Most of the so-called hacking cases we encounter were due to users playing at certain cybercafés that have keyloggers or trojans,” she said. These are hidden computer programs that enable hackers to record or farm information from computer users.
.
Ms Kuek said gamers here are educated on how to safeguard their accounts by changing their passwords regularly and playing only at endorsed cybercafes.
.
Meanwhile, AsiaSoft is taking steps to prevent the problem from reoccurring, working with Korea-based game developer Nexon. “We upgraded our IT security measures, increased the number of firewalls for game servers with the latest technology, and are currently working with third-party expertise,” said Mr Ng.
.
“We’d like to reassure the community that security has been stepped up and new measures are in place to eradicate future attacks.”
.
Ms Young Siew Yim, a teacher, was one gamer who has filed a report with the police. She spent more than $2,000 over two years on MapleStory.
.
“I was careful not to do things that would reveal my password to hackers, yet my account was hacked. It’s AsiaSoft’sresponsibility to handle the problem. When I visited their support outlet, they could not do much to help me,” she said. “It’s a really nice game but I’ve got no mood to play.”

Labels: MapleSEA, Others