Uploading garbage files to the DOI system of a journal: A new type of misconduct

Abstract

We report an unusual case in which garbage files were uploaded to the DOI system of a Korean scholarly journal (Journal of Educational Evaluation of Health Professions). This was a deliberate attack to disrupt the journal so that the DOI pages were directed to an invalid page. It was a mysterious type of attack that had never previously occurred in the DOI system. This behaviour can therefore be considered as a new type of misconduct. From the legal viewpoint, this action may be considered a criminal offence, under Korean law, to disrupt a national institute which publishes a journal on the basis of its constituting interference with a government office in the execution of its duties. We report this strange case so that publishers and editors can be alert to this new type of cyber-crime and to help them prevent any reoccurrence.