Regarding the recent e-book leak at the bookstore Aladin, the Korea Publishers Association issued a statement on the 30th, stating, "This e-book theft is an incident that could shake the foundation of the publishing industry to its core."
The Publishers Association said, "Since infinite copying is possible and it is not affected by time and space, the leakage of e-book files is on a completely different level from stealing paper books," adding, "If the stolen files are leaked further, it would be a disaster unimaginable for the publishing world."
Earlier, Aladin confirmed that some e-books were leaked recently and has requested an investigation from the Korea Copyright Protection Agency and the Cyber Investigation Division of the National Police Agency. The number of leaked titles is estimated to be about 5,000. The Publishers Association confirmed that these books were leaked in a Telegram open chat room with about 3,200 members.
The Publishers Association also urged Aladin, which is responsible for content security, to promptly resolve the situation and prepare countermeasures. The Publishers Association stated, "Aladin, which has grown on the trust of the publishing industry and readers, must respond to that trust, but Aladin has yet to provide a clear explanation regarding the current state of e-book security," and added, "We demand that Aladin put everything on the line to resolve this issue quickly."
In response, Aladin said, "Since this is an ongoing investigation, it is difficult to disclose the hacker's demands or the exact scale of the damage."
Meanwhile, a person presumed to be the hacker claimed on some internet forums on the 16th that a significant number of Aladin's e-books were leaked. Aladin stated that some books without DRM (Digital Rights Management) technology, which restricts unauthorized use of digital e-book content, were leaked.
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