Hackers target developers of online games in an effort to profit off of in-game currency and infect players with malware

• The hacks affected unnamed developers in South Korea and Taiwan
• Compromises allowed hackers to sneak malware into 'game executables'
• It also gave them access to servers and ability to manipulate in-game currency
• It's unclear how many people, if any, were affected by the hacks 

Security researchers say hackers have infiltrated developers of popular online games in an effort to manipulate in-game currency and infect players with malware.

As reported by ArsTechnica, the cyber security firm ESET detailed the hacks in a recent blog post, describing how a hacking group was able to infiltrate multiple game developers based in South Korea and Taiwan.

According to ESET, who didn't name the companies, the developers run massively multiplayer online (MMO) games and have thousands of active daily users. 

The compromises affect multiple game developers based in south Korea and Taiwan but it's unclear which companies were breached (stock)

Breaches were discovered in February and relevant companies were notified, they say. 

Researchers say that in one recorded case, hackers who gained privileged access to a developer's servers could have offloaded malware into 'video game executables' which are available to players.

'In at least one case, the attackers were able to compromise the company’s build orchestration server, allowing them to take control of the automated build systems,' the researchers write.

'This could have allowed the attackers to include arbitrary code of their choice in the video game executables.'

In another instance, ESET says hackers who compromised game servers would have been able to manipulate in-game currency for financial gain. 

ESET researchers attribute the work to a hacking collective called the Winnti Group who have previously infiltrated other games developers, including Nfinity Games in 2018.

It's unclear how many users, if any ,were affected by the hacks, according to