Notes

Minecraft: Denmark Replica Disrupted by "cyber Vandals'

Minecraft: Denmark replica disrupted by cyber vandals



7 May 2014



Cyber criminals have destroyed an online Denmark that was designed to teach children.



A few pieces of it were destroyed despite a ban issued by its creators the Danish Geodata Agency (DGA), on the use of "dynamite".



At the beginning area at the beginning of the area, large US flags were put up as well as white, red and blue "America” signs.



The state-owned agency believes the "vandalism" was meant to draw attention, and claimed the damage had been repaired.



Images showing the changes were first posted on the fan site minecraftforum.net by a user who wrote:"I Americanlized [sic] this place a little."



Chris Hammeken, chief of press at the Danish Geodata Agency, stated to the BBC that only a small area was destroyed.



"The flags were exactly where the players begin, so I believe those who put them there wanted as the most attention as they could get."



Hidden 'dynamite'



"Minecraft is about building and reshaping," said Mr Hammeken who described the incident as part of Minecraft's "nature of play."



The buildings were destroyed by virtual dynamite, the use of which was banned on the Danish server - after users discovered it could be detonated when hidden in mining carts.



Mr Hammeken stated that "it was the players who cleaned up all the damage and replaced it with new grass, flowers the next morning."



The city was not "hand-built" but topographical information from Denmark was transferred into Minecraft. Minecraft is also available for free on the DGA's website.



Those who download the data can upload it to their private Minecraft server and it will create an updated city and protect users from threats.



The replica has been downloaded more than 220,000 times since the beginning of this month.



Virtual field trips



The DGA created a replica of Denmark to spark interest in spatial data, with an emphasis on education for children.



Its website explains: "There are real addresses in the game, so it's possible to have an exchange of information about place names and their significance."



The agency also suggested that the replica could be used to take students on virtual field excursions.
Ejac


"We've observed that children are more likely to learn when they are exposed to something they are familiar with," explained Mr Hammeken and said Minecraft had been utilized as a tool for education in Denmark for a long time.



It is not clear who were the "vandals" were, or why they were targeted by Denmark.



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Related Internet Links



Geodatastyrelsen



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