The Marmot’s Hole

Chinese authorities have arrested three accomplices involved in the January hacker attack on popular Korean auction site “Auction,” the Korean subsidiary of eBay.

Meanwhile, Chinese and Korean authorities have identified the actual hackers, a Korean and a Chinese, and are looking for them now, an unnamed Korean police official said.

The criminals hacked into the “Auction” database, making off with the personal information of at least 10.8 million customers.

In late March, Chinese authorities arrested and investigated three individuals — two Koreans and a Chinese — in connection with the case. One of the Koreans introduced the Korean mastermind with the hackers, while the Chinese was reportedly a hacker.

KBS, meanwhile, is reporting that the Chinese arrested WAS the hacker who launched the attack, although Chinese authorities are yet refusing to confirm this officially.

KBS also talked to Chinese hackers who claim there is something of a black market for Korean personal information in China. They say Koreans hire Chinese hackers to break into sites to get information, which is then handed over and sold in Korea.

As it appears nothing yet has been officially confirmed, we’ll have to wait for more details.

Just to show that hackers have a sense of humor, the vice head of PR for “Auction” said on CBS radio last month that the hacking program employed in the attack was named “Fuck KR,” leading at the time to speculation that the attack was anti-Korean in nature.