Hacker exploits Zynga Poker for $85,000

Ronny Kerr · February 7, 2011 · Short URL: https://vator.tv/n/16bc

Ashley Mitchell admits to British court that he fiddled with virtual poker chips to make money

Hacker Ashley Mitchell, 29, admitted to a British court that he gained access to administrative accounts at Zynga, allowing him to fiddle with enough virtual money to earn him £53,000 (about $85,000) before being discovered and arrested.

Playing administrator for the social gaming giant’s Texas Hold’em poker game between June and September 2009, Mitchell moved 400 billion virtual poker chips--worth somewhere between £184,000 (about $296,000) and $12 million. Before he could cash in on all of it by selling the chips for cash, however, Zynga security noticed the unusual activity and busted him.

Judge Philip Wassall says Mitchell could face jail time for the hack, highlighting how seriously governments could take virtual goods in the future, as social gaming companies increasingly establish themselves as businesses here to stay.

The news revives debate over how exactly to categorize a virtual good? Is it like any piece of purchasable property? Does someone who spends money on a virtual good actually own that property?

Last month, mobile gaming company ngmoco faced criticisms for canceling a few of its less popular games because users had actually spent some money on in-game virtual goods. When the games were canceled, users received no refund. Company founder Neil Young told me in an interview that he believes the virtual purchases amount to no more than “components of the entertainment experience,” and therefore, can’t be equated with physical items you buy.

And yet, in this case, the court clearly seems to be leaning toward the argument that virtual items can indeed be treated like real property.

This is something worth watching as social gaming continues to grow in 2011.

Official statement released by Zynga:

Zynga treats game security with the utmost of seriousness. We want to provide our users with the safest and most enjoyable game experience possible. To that end, we have a world class security team which continues to proactively identify and address security breaches with the highest priority. We will pursue these issues vigorously, which could involve criminal and civil prosecutions.

Ronny Kerr

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Ngmoco:)

Startup/Business

Joined Vator on November 5, 2010

ngmoco are creators and publishers of mobile games such as We Rule(TM), We Farm(TM) and GodFinger(TM) for iPad, iPhone and iPod touch.

Zynga

Startup/Business

Joined Vator on April 14, 2009

Zynga is the largest social gaming company with 8.5 million daily users and 45 million monthly users. Zynga’s games are available on Facebook, MySpace, Bebo, Hi5, Friendster, Yahoo! and the iPhone, and include Texas Hold’Em Poker, Mafia Wars, YoVille, Vampires, Street Racing, Scramble and Word Twist. The company is funded by Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, IVP, Union Square Ventures, Foundry Group, Avalon Ventures, Pilot Group, Reid Hoffman and Peter Thiel. Zynga is headquartered at the Chip Factory in San Francisco. For more information, please visit www.zynga.com.

Neil Young