Authorities in South Korea have uncovered a huge leak of personal information, which enabled the perpetrators to steal around $400,000 from online gaming accounts, reports the Korea Joongang Daily.
The South Jeolla police arrested 16 individuals over allegations that they illegally circulated the personal information of 27 million South Koreans.
According to police, a suspect known as Kim - the group’s ringleader - reportedly received 220 million personal information items, including the names, resident registration numbers, account names and passwords, from a Chinese hacker he met in an online game in 2011.
The police said Kim is believed to have earned about $400,000 hacking into six major games in South Korea, around $120,000 of which he then gave to the Chinese hacker.
