Thursday, September 14, 2006

Xavier student charged for game hacking


Xavier student charged for game hacking
By MELVIN G. CALIMAG

A third-year college student of Xavier University in Cagayan de Oro is being sued and is under investigation by the National Bureau of Investigation (NBI) for allegedly hacking a new online game and posting its "cheat" codes in the Internet.
A formal complaint has been formally filed in the NBI against Camilo Lozano III, described by the legal counsel of complainant Webzen Inc. as a "chronic" game hacker.
A press statement earlier issued by Webzen, developer of the online game MU, erroneously claimed the NBI has arrested Lozano this week. But Elfren Meneses, chief of the agency?s Anti-Computer Crimes Division, denied this since the case was only filed last Tuesday.
"There is no arrest made yet because we still have to send our agents to Cagayan de Oro to investigate," Meneses said in an interview, adding that computer experts from the NBI Manila office have yet to look at the evidence of the case.
Atty. Salvador Belaro Jr. of Belaro & Associates, counsel for Webzen, said the company?s technical consultants, together with NBI agents in Cagayan de Oro, conducted an initial investigation on the activities of Lozano prior the filing of the complaint.
Lozano, who uses the call sign "Camilord," is allegedly one of the country?s most notorious hackers who is on the NBI?s list for hacking into software applications, the statement from Webzen said.
Belaro said investigators said Lazano posted "cheat" programs in his personal website which other hackers frequented. "Perhaps because he?s still young, he was brave enough to proclaim to the world that he had hacked the game."
The alleged student hacker is being charged for violating provisions of the IP Code and E-Commerce Law, according to Belaro. If convicted, the suspect could face imprisonment and civil damages.
"He (Lozano) could be also liable for more damages for destroying the goodwill of the whole gaming community," Belaro said, noting the introduction of MU Online in the country has brought with it millions of pesos in investment that has created jobs for computer science and other graduates.
The same statement also said the NBI raided two Internet cafes in the same city for suspicion of operating private servers providing illegal access to an unauthorized version of MU. The raid resulted in the seizure of R2 million in computers and peripherals.
Belaro said the anti-piracy enforcement efforts were the first ever conducted by Webzen in the Philippines

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