A total of five individuals have been arrested by Chinese authorities on suspicion of being behind distributed denial-of-service (DDOS) attacks launched against the systems of a Shanghai-based online gaming company.

According to police in Shanghai ‘s Xuhui District, cited by Ecns.cn, the first suspect, surnamed Wu, was arrested in January, after the targeted company provided authorities with information needed to track him down.

Wu told investigators that he had been hired by one of the targeted company’s competitors, an Internet firm based in the Henan Province operated by an individual called Tu.

Tu’s firm offered not only online games, but also hacking services. The individuals he hired would hack into the systems of various organizations and use the hijacked computers to launch DDOS attacks against various targets.

The attacks launched against the Shanghai online games company are said to have resulted in damage of close to 10 million Yuan ($1.6 million / €1.16 million).

The attacks were aimed at the login page for an online game and prevented paying customers from accessing their accounts.

Police detained Wu, Tu and three other individuals suspected of being responsible for the cyberattacks. The company operated by Tu is believed to be involved in other illegal activities as well, including hacking, distribution of obscene materials, and hosting illegal ads.

Source: http://news.softpedia.com/news/5-People-Arrested-for-Launching-DDOS-Attacks-on-Systems-of-Chinese-Gaming-Company-441863.shtml