Countries with a Hand in Virtual Currency 2011 North Korea Hacker Scam

Countries with a Hand in Virtual Currency 2011 North Korea Hacker Scam

In 2011, a case came to light in which North Korean cyber forces infiltrated a South Korean online game and fraudulently acquired virtual currency. The China-based hackers used bots to raid in-game points, which were then converted into cash. In about a year and a half, they made as much as $6 million in profits. Technicians affiliated with the Korean Computer Center, a North Korean state agency, led the operation, which was organized with South Korean and Chinese collaborators. South Korean police uncovered the network and arrested five people and indicted nine others at home. Amid economic sanctions, North Korea turned to the virtual economy and used the virtual space of games as a stage to acquire foreign currency in real life. The digital world had been transformed from a place of play into a strategic domain for the state.