Hacker Holds Video Game Hostage

A player of the popular MMO Runes of Magic has hacked the game’s databases, made demands of its German operators and is effectively holding the personal details of its users hostage.

In a fit of indignant rage, user augustus87 apparently took it upon himself to attack the servers of the game’s Western operator (it was created in Taiwan), Frogster. Having claimed to have access to the account names and passwords of 3.5 million innocent users, he is threatening to release this information gradually to the public unless his demands are met.

Those demands are many, but generally involve Frogster easing up on its strict moderation of the game’s forums, implementing better online security for its user’s details (oh, the irony) and engaging in more transparent practices with its customers.

Frogster, in response, claims the information is “outdated log-in data from 2007”, but at the same time is treating the attack as a “serious criminal offence”, with German law enforcement authorities notified.

You can read augustus87’s complete rant below, with a second, creepier message left on YouTube as well