Chinese hackers going after game information

Westlake Village (CA) - Chinese hackers are launching massive attacks against Korean websites in an attempt to gain game login and password information. According to the Korean Chosun Ilbo newspaper, more than 2000 Korean websites were hacked in the last few months. In the beginning the attacks were limited to gaming websites, but now have spread to government and university websites.

The hackers are trying to obtain login information for massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPG) like World of Warcraft or Lineage. They are also hacking into sites that sell virtual gold, in game items and power-leveling services.

These websites contain a treasure trove of usernames and passwords. Power-leveling is where a player will pay another person to play their character. Gamers typically need a username and password to login and play the character, which puts all the needed information in a convenient place for game hackers.

The Korean government has announced an anti-hacking program, but others say legalizing trading of virtual items would solve the problem.