Application of Public Official Qualification and Official Title Impersonation Crimes
Accessing as Another Person Violates the Information and Communications Network Act
Various Account Impersonation Methods... Anonymity Boomerang
Recently, a regular office worker was arrested for posting a murder threat using a police officer's account on the online community Blind, sparking growing controversy over the use of Blind. There are concerns that illegal account trading, which is prohibited by current law, is frequently occurring, and due to Blind's nature of verifying workplaces through email, it cannot be free from illegal programs and other issues.
◆Blind accounts traded online= On the 24th, it was easy to find posts buying and selling Blind accounts on online communities and secondhand trading sites. On the secondhand trading platform Bungaejangter, a post titled "Buying Blind ID" offered a price of 25,000 KRW for an account. On KakaoTalk anonymous open chat rooms, five chat rooms selling Blind accounts were confirmed. One chat room offered to sell a large corporation account for 30,000 KRW, while another offered an account labeled as "new company" (accounts that appear when the number of employees is below a certain threshold) for 50,000 KRW. On Telegram, there was an account called "Blind ID Farm," but no specific price information was provided.
Blind is an anonymous platform with over 8 million subscribers, accessible only to current employees. Because of this, university students and job seekers sometimes use acquaintances' accounts or purchase accounts. Prices vary by occupation; earlier this year, a post offering a Blind doctor account for 2 million KRW sparked controversy. Professor Kwak Geum-ju of Seoul National University's Department of Psychology explained, "On social networking services (SNS), transformation is possible. At the moment of writing, one can become that person and feel like a member of that group. This is why IDs from desirable occupations sell at high prices."
◆Account trading is 'illegal,' impersonation may lead to 'punishment'= However, under current law, selling and buying accounts is clearly illegal. According to the Act on Promotion of Information and Communications Network Utilization and Information Protection, etc., unauthorized access or exceeding authorized access to an information and communications network can result in imprisonment of up to 5 years or a fine of up to 50 million KRW. Even if an ID is used with the consent of the owner, the platform holds the access rights, so the law applies. The ID provider can also be punished under criminal law for aiding and abetting.
Simply claiming to be an employee of another company does not constitute impersonation, but impersonating public officials, doctors, or lawyers changes the matter. If a non-public official impersonates and exercises official authority, they may face up to 3 years imprisonment or a fine of up to 7 million KRW. The Medical Service Act (fine up to 5 million KRW) and the Attorney-at-Law Act (up to 3 years imprisonment or fine up to 20 million KRW) also prohibit impersonating doctors and lawyers. Additionally, falsely fabricating domestic or foreign public office, rank, medal, degree, or other titles or designations prescribed by law is punishable under the Minor Offenses Act by a fine, detention, or penalty of up to 100,000 KRW.
◆Blind's credibility also 'plummets'= Account impersonation methods mentioned alongside account trading include hacking or using illegal programs. Since account creation only requires email verification, if a company email account is compromised, the Blind account can also be compromised. There is also the possibility of using illegal programs. One method involves replicating a specific company domain and performing email verification from the replicated domain. A security industry official who wished to remain anonymous said, "Phishing emails targeting work email accounts continue to be discovered," adding, "You cannot be assured just because it is a company email."
The police are investigating how the suspect, a man in his 30s identified as A, obtained the police account related to the police impersonation murder threat post. While the specific details will emerge through further investigation, given the variety of account impersonation methods, Blind's credibility inevitably declines. There is also the possibility that someone could create a fake account to spread false information recklessly about a specific company. Moreover, even if someone directly insults a particular individual, it is difficult to catch them unless the author leaves traces like in this case. The anonymity that Blind touted as its strength is turning into a boomerang.
In response, Blind stated, "We regularly monitor all scenarios of abnormal platform use, including account trading, and take strong action." However, there remain vulnerabilities, such as victims not knowing their accounts have been stolen until they try to access Blind. Blind added, "We will strengthen measures against account trading and other abnormal activities."
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