MSN Korea Website Hacked

Filed in: Microsoft, Security — June 7th, 2005

WASHINGTON (AP) — Password-stealing software planted by hackers was active on Microsoft’s popular MSN Web site in South Korea for days before the world’s largest software company learned about the break-in and removed the computer code.

Police investigators and Microsoft specialists are continuing to search for clues to the culprits behind this week’s high-profile computer break-in. More details emerged Friday about the hacking, which targeted subscribers of an online game called “Lineage” that is popular in Asia.

Microsoft said it had cleaned the Web site, www.msn.co.kr, and removed the software code that had been planted on its news page. It said another company that operates the MSN Korea site apparently failed to apply necessary software patches, leaving its server computers vulnerable.