CryptoLogics Gaming Software Hacked
September 06, 2001
Fred Faust, RGTonline.com

Link(dead as of 10/22/06): http://www.rgtonline.com/root_index.asp?BodyLoc=/newspage2/Features/detail.psp.q.All.e.(!00019a2c!).a.htm




CryptoLogic Inc., the Toronto company thats a veteran developer of
Internet gaming and e-commerce software, suffered a system intrusion
at the end of August. The hacker caused the win rate on three games
craps, video slots and the Rags to Riches progressive slot to be
higher than had been programmed by CryptoLogic.

As a result, players who happened to be playing those games on the
sites of two CryptoLogic licensees won much more money than they were
supposed to. They were paid in full.

The windfall to players amounted to US$1.9 million. The company said
it has submitted a claim for $1.3 million to its insuror. So the loss
to CryptoLogic and the two licensees will be $600,000, with most of
that absorbed by CryptoLogic.

The company mentioned the incident in a press release issued
Wednesday. Its director of communications, Nancy Chan-Palmateer,
fleshed out some of the details in an interview today with RGT Online.
She said she couldnt discuss all of the details because an
investigation is continuing.

There was never any compromise of player information, there was no
access to financial information, Chan-Palmateer said. All of that was
fully secure.

The company believes that the hacker was trying to harm CryptoLogic,
not trying to rig games so that the hacker could personally benefit.
All of the players at the time were longtime players known to the
sites where they gambled, Chan-Palmateer said.

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