Cybersecurity researchers disciplined for playing StarCraft during work hours
A scene from the video game StarCraft / Korea Times file
Employees at a government-funded research institute responsible for national cybersecurity have been disciplined after they were caught playing video games together during work hours.
According to data obtained by Rep. Hwang Jung-a of the Democratic Party of Korea, a member of the National Assembly's Science, ICT, Broadcasting and Communications Committee, from the National Security Research Institute (NSR), an affiliate of the Electronics and Telecommunications Research Institute (ETRI), five employees at the institute's Cyber Security Training Center were disciplined after an investigation found that they had spent as many as 90 hours connected to Battle.net, the online gaming service used for StarCraft, during work hours. StarCraft is a strategy game developed by U.S. video game company Blizzard Entertainment.
The five employees repeatedly accessed the game server on their work computers between September and December 2024 when their supervisor was away on vacation or business trips. One employee was connected for as long as eight hours and 53 minutes in a single day. Another was connected for seven hours and 21 minutes, indicating that the employees spent most of their working hours logged onto the game server on some days.
Investigators also found evidence that some of the employees continued to access the game through the institute's internal local network even after its internet connection was blocked in December that year.
Their conduct came to light after another employee at the center reported it through ETRI's internal whistleblowing system. Following a disciplinary committee review, the NSR issued reprimands to all five employees.
The institute said it deducted paid annual leave equivalent to the amount of time the employees had spent connected to the game server. For employees who did not have enough annual leave remaining, the corresponding amount was deducted from their pay.
The employees reportedly said they had logged onto the game after someone suggested they unwind together following the completion of a major event. They also said they had not been playing the game for the entire time they were connected to the server.
Acknowledging shortcomings in its oversight, the NSR said it is now monitoring usage records and blocking access to games and other nonwork-related websites. The institute also said it conducted cybersecurity training for all employees as well as two related training sessions at the center, and introduced a requirement for the operation of external training networks to be inspected and reported on regularly.
"Employees responsible for protecting the nation's cybersecurity repeatedly accessing a game server while their supervisor was away represents a serious lapse in workplace discipline," Hwang said. "There must not only be thorough management of employee conduct and strict accountability, but also a review of safeguards to ensure that internal whistleblowers do not face retaliation."
This article from the Hankook Ilbo, the sister publication of The Korea Times, was translated by a generative AI system and edited by The Korea Times.