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TO UPDATE: SEA Gamer Mall has issued a statement saying that it “recently learned of the US allegations against two company employees.”
The two affected employees are temporarily on leave pending the resolution of the matter, he said, without revealing their identities.
“As a responsible company serving millions of customers around the world, we are committed to the authorities and have been offering them full cooperation and assistance.
“Without compromising the integrity of any ongoing legal proceedings, suffice it to say that the company has never been involved in any illegal activity, as we are a local Malaysian company with hundreds of employees and millions of clients around the world.
“SEA Gamer Mall will continue to take important steps to handle claims. Rest assured that the management of the company has at heart the best interests of each and every client and we will continue to provide our best service to our clients, ”he added.
PETALING JAYA: Perak-based SEA Gamer Mall said it is examining indictment documents issued by the U.S. Department of Justice (DoJ) that has accused its staff, Wong Ong Hua and Ling Yang Ching, of participating in a international piracy group.
“All I can say is that we are reviewing the indictment documents. Our attorneys are working on it. I have no further comment,” said SEA Gamer Mall COO Tommy Chieng when contacted by WhatsApp.
In a second indictment in August, the Justice Department charged Wong, 46, and Ling, 32, with 23 counts of extortion, conspiracy, identity theft, aggravated identity theft, access device fraud, laundering. money, violations of CFAA (Computer Fraud and Abuse Act). ) and the false registration of domain names.
Wong is the founder and CEO of SEA Gamer Mall, which is based in Sitiawan, Perak, while Ling is listed as a partner and product manager, according to the company’s website.
“First, as the core of the APT-41 hacking, the Chinese defendants targeted more than 100 victims worldwide in a variety of industries and sectors that are sadly part of the standard list of targets for Chinese hackers, “said US Deputy Attorney General Jeffrey A. Rosen in a statement.
“These criminal acts were turbocharged by a sophisticated technique known as ‘supply chain attack’, in which Chinese hackers compromised software vendors around the world and modified vendor code to install back doors that allowed more attacks against vendor client software.
“Second, and as an additional method of making money, several of the Chinese defendants compromised the networks of video game companies around the world (a billion dollar industry) and defrauded them with the resources of the game. .
“Two of the Chinese defendants are accused, with two Malaysian defendants, of selling these resources on the black market, through their illicit website.”
At this point, it is unclear what the resources of the game are, as it could be the in-game currency to buy virtual goods such as clothing or even art items from a video game.
Gaming analytics company Newzoo reported that 20.1 million gamers in Malaysia spent $ 673 million on games in 2019, making it one of the largest gaming markets in Southeast Asia.
He stated that most gamers spent money on in-game items or virtual goods, the most common being power-ups or additional abilities for an in-game avatar.
SEA Gamer Mall was established in 2007 with offices in China, Thailand and Indonesia.
On its website, the company claimed it has 1.9 million registered users and, in a 2017 news article, Wong was quoted as saying that the majority of the website’s sales came from prepaid recharge cards and virtual items. of online games.
The company made RM386k in revenue in 2019 and is forecast to hit RM500k this year as the Covid-19 pandemic has prompted more people to play and purchase in-game items, Chieng said in a LifestyleTech report.
The report from the US Department of Justice stated that Wong and Ling were arrested on September 14 through cooperation with local enforcement authorities and are now facing extradition proceedings.
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