Anyone who has played games must have heard of
Mihoyo Co., Ltd.’s “Genshin Impact.”
It was the top game on the Apple and Google platforms in 2020.
This clearly demonstrates the game’s popularity.
However, some unscrupulous individuals have come up with the idea of making “hacks.”
In the end, they have lost both the woman and the money.
Recently, the Shanghai Xuhui Court has heard a case like this.
In June 2021, Shanghai Xuhui Public Security Bureau successfully cracked down on a case of producing and selling “Genshin Impact” game hacks, arresting three suspects. The total涉案amount was approximately 2 million RMB. After trial, the defendants were sentenced to fixed-term imprisonment of between 1 year and 6 months and 4 years.
The court’s ruling document shows that from October 2020 to May 2021, the defendant Zhou, in conjunction with other defendants such as Sun Si, obtained relevant data of “Genshin Impact” from defendant Yao Bing, to develop and produce the “KQ” hack program for the game.
According to judicial appraisal, from October 2020 to May 2021, the defendant sold a total of approximately 40,000 hack cards, totaling about 2 million RMB.
The illegal product “KQ hack” seriously disrupted the fairness of the game, interfered with the gaming experience of ordinary users, and caused huge economic losses to the game itself, with a significant negative impact.
Upon receiving a report from Mihoyo Co., Ltd., the Shanghai Xuhui Public Security Bureau immediately conducted an investigation, successfully identifying the suspects and gathering substantial and credible evidence for the arrest.
In August 2021, the Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Procuratorate filed a public prosecution against the suspects for the crime of providing illegal control of computer information systems programs, and the Shanghai Xuhui District People’s Court accepted the case and publicly tried it in court.
The prosecution argued that the defendants, in pursuit of illegal profits, jointly produced and sold hack programs that could intrude and control computer systems, their actions having violated Article 285, Paragraphs 3 and 2 of the Criminal Law of the People’s Republic of China, and should be held criminally responsible for the crime of providing illegal control of computer information systems programs.
After the trial, the court found the prosecution’s charges to be correct. The three defendants admitted guilt and had returned the proceeds of their crime. Ultimately, the court sentenced the main offender Zhou to four years of fixed-term imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 RMB; the main offender Sun Si to three years and ten months of fixed-term imprisonment and a fine of 50,000 RMB; and the accomplice Yao Bing to one year and six months of fixed-term imprisonment and a fine of 10,000 RMB.
In recent years, with the rapid development of the domestic online gaming industry, illegal hacking and私服activities have also emerged.
In June 2020, the National Copyright Administration, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology, the Ministry of Public Security, and the National Internet Information Office jointly launched the “Sword Net 2020” special operation. Regulatory authorities have continuously cracked down on illegal hacking and私服activities in the online gaming industry.
Multiple similar hacking cases have been cracked.
In August 2020, the Gao You Public Security Bureau cracked a major game hacking case, dismantling four hacking operation groups and arresting 22 suspects.
In March 2021, the Suzhou Kunshan Public Security Bureau cracked the largest global game hacking case, with suspects operating in various countries, and the case involved multiple domestic and international game hacking operations.
In December 2021, the Taixing Public Security Bureau of Xuzhou City, Jiangsu Province, announced the successful cracking of a case of infringing on the copyright of online games, arresting four suspects and dismantling a black gaming industry interest chain that operated game “私服” for profit.
These unscrupulous individuals are often subject to severe criminal penalties. Multiple cases published on the China Judgments Online show that the production and sale of hacks and私服activities涉嫌构成侵入非法