NSA Targets Gold Selling on WoW?

A rogue seemed a fitting image for this post. WoW has always had its worries with Chinese gold farmers. It seemed every trade channel on every realm was inundated with the very real scourge of gold selling. But shortly after a surveillance investigation of Warcraft by the Nation Security Agency (NSA) the Warcraft World has taken a turn from the surreal to the very real imprisonment of ten Chinese gold sellers. The gold sellers have received a real prison term for selling gold and guns in World of Warcraft? The perpetrators were busted by Chinese authorities and are being charged as a cyber crime ring. It was learned that the ten men have been sentenced to serve time in prison for purchasing and profiting off of 11500 compromised World of Warcraft accounts. Now how does this tie Warcraft with National Security?

Chinese hackers targeting computer systems within the United States falls under the heading of international cyber crime. And international cyber crime is the direct responsibility of the NSA. It doesn't matter if the goal is theft of corporate secrets, government spying or even hacking Warcraft accounts. It is still a breech of security and a potential avenue to threaten National Security. 

No country in the world wants to re-open old wounds with the United States regarding 9/11. And it is not a coincidence that the NSA uncovered the rampant gold selling operation that has always been predominantly a Chinese operation. When they learned of the extent of this hacking of Warcraft accounts the NSA undoubtedly contacted the Chinese Government. So it's not about gold selling and hacking your wow account. It's all about the act of compromising systems within the United States and that comes down to National Security. 

In the past, the Chinese Government has turned a blind eye to the cyber crimes committed by those in their country against online games like World of Warcraft. There is no coincidence between the NSA investigation into Warcraft and the Chinese crackdown on Warcraft account hacking. 

Warcraft has been an escape from the real world for millions of gamers. We exist in a surreal environment where we can forget about real life for a while. Some of us perhaps spend more time than we should inside. But the recent real world events outside our WoW universe should put things into perspective. 

Those of us unfortunate enough to have had an account compromised in the past, through no fault of our own, have had to suffer the added indignity of Blizzard taking the position of blaming the victim rather than taking the necessary steps to stop the hacking. It seems a sad note that it took an NSA investigation to do what Blizzard has failed to do in the past. 

Image Source: Best Game Wallpapers