ARRESTS MADE IN RELATION TO HALF-LIFE 2 THEFT

***Veridian3*** · Jun 10, 2004, 08:21 PM

Some exclusive (and good) news just in from Valve:

Online Community Tracks Down Hackers

June, 10 2004 – Arrests have been made in several countries related to the break-in to Valve’s network, theft of the Half-Life 2 source code, and release of the source code on the Internet.

“Within a few days of the announcement of the break-in, the online gaming community had tracked down those involved,” said Gabe Newell, Valve’s CEO. “It was extraordinary to watch how quickly and how cleverly gamers were able to unravel what are traditionally unsolvable problems for law enforcement related to this kind of cyber-crime.”

Thousands of tips were received related to the criminal activities, with a core group of people who were able to analyze and backtrack from these clues. Subsequent to these individuals being identified, Valve has been working with various national authorities to prepare cases against those involved, leading to these arrests.

“It was very uplifting to see how the community rallied and tracked these people down. Everyone here at Valve is once again reminded of how much we owe to the gaming community,” added Mr. Newell.

For specific details on the arrests, please contact the Northwest Cyber Crime Task Force, Seattle, 206-262-2030.

Zardon · Jun 10, 2004, 08:33 PM

Asmoday · Jun 10, 2004, 08:35 PM

Serves them good..!!

**MIG-31** · Jun 10, 2004, 08:35 PM

'bout time.

~~HawK~~ · Jun 10, 2004, 08:39 PM

Good Job; Good for Valve & Good for us

Quote:

Valve is once again reminded of how much we owe to the gaming community,” added Mr. Newell.

And as a thank you, they gave us Steam

ChrisW · Jun 10, 2004, 08:50 PM

I hope they like tossing salad!

BiGBrOwNPimpsta · Jun 10, 2004, 09:01 PM

did it say from which country these ppl were from?

in an earlier article i heard germany

The_Neon_Cowboy · Jun 10, 2004, 09:06 PM

Cough? Old news? At lest It seems that way to me.

Are these new people? Or the arrests that they made about month ago of the people that they believed that were responsible for the theft?

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=45797

http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=45798

dpagan · Jun 10, 2004, 09:11 PM

now they'll be hack'd by inmates, there source well be in jeopardy

No_Style · Jun 10, 2004, 09:44 PM

I like how very little details was given as to how many individuals were arrested, or where they were from. Could it be that they are under 18? I know some countries don't allow stuff like that being publically known until consent if you're under 18.

germanjulian · Jun 10, 2004, 10:11 PM

yeah ..........

pr0digal jenius · Jun 10, 2004, 10:26 PM

“It was extraordinary to watch how quickly and how cleverly gamers were able to unravel what are traditionally unsolvable problems for law enforcement related to this kind of cyber-crime.”....that's b/c the government is slow and doesn't knwo what it should about computers...lol

Logla · Jun 10, 2004, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by Veridian3
“Within a few days of the announcement of the break-in, the online gaming community had tracked down those involved,” said Gabe Newell, Valve’s CEO. “It was extraordinary to watch how quickly and how cleverly gamers were able to unravel what are traditionally unsolvable problems for law enforcement related to this kind of cyber-crime.”

Piss enough people off and they will turn on those responsible

zerodamage · Jun 10, 2004, 11:55 PM

This may be released now to bring back the interest over HL2 also. I think the game is coming really soon.

pr0digal jenius · Jun 11, 2004, 12:27 AM

haha...i've given up on it....doom 3 is gunna flush everyone else out, and they should just accept that

jonis · Jun 11, 2004, 12:37 AM

WTG valve. Catch them bastards!

Hellbent · Jun 11, 2004, 01:22 AM

Now Bubba an say to them "hack this"

MythicaL · Jun 11, 2004, 01:27 AM

I saw this on CSNation

merlinxi · Jun 11, 2004, 03:12 AM

Hmm...

Impressive.

Merlin

blown503 · Jun 11, 2004, 03:27 AM

I dont believe it, not enough info on the ones captured. I believe it is pr bull crap.

nForcer · Jun 11, 2004, 03:34 AM

Son, (err) nForcer, Its only illegal if you get caught! ...Err yeah. :P

Warpy · Jun 11, 2004, 08:54 AM

whats the source from this info?

Zardon · Jun 11, 2004, 09:37 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by Funky Monkey
whats the source from this info?

Valve emailed us the information direct.

mkk · Jun 11, 2004, 12:16 PM

In other words a pretty unreliable source then.

A bit more seriously, Valve probably hurt more from the embarrassment of the incident rather than the code theft itself. Their security was laughable and together with other revelations it was made pretty clear that the game was nowhere nearly done. Then as icing on the cake came Valves own silly behavior, trying to blame the code theft/leak for the delay. I would not be surprised at all if this news is going to be used as a smokescreen for yet another announcement of failure, and plead to the investors for more cash.

Mazuko · Jun 11, 2004, 03:52 PM

Um...how the heck can announcing that arrests were made have any effect on the game itself? Answer: It doesn't.

Arrests and software programming are two completely different things.....

zerodamage · Jun 11, 2004, 04:16 PM

I believe it is true and Valve is timing the information release to coincide with the launch. I believe we will see HL2 in the next few weeks.

jonis · Jun 11, 2004, 04:24 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by zerodamage
I believe it is true and Valve is timing the information release to coincide with the launch. I believe we will see HL2 in the next few weeks.

Don't you just love optimists

Jun 10, 2004, 08:21 PM	#1
*Veridian3* Administrator Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Cloaked Posts: 5,028 Rep Power: 182	ARRESTS MADE IN RELATION TO HALF-LIFE 2 THEFT Some exclusive (and good) news just in from Valve: Online Community Tracks Down Hackers June, 10 2004 – Arrests have been made in several countries related to the break-in to Valve’s network, theft of the Half-Life 2 source code, and release of the source code on the Internet. “Within a few days of the announcement of the break-in, the online gaming community had tracked down those involved,” said Gabe Newell, Valve’s CEO. “It was extraordinary to watch how quickly and how cleverly gamers were able to unravel what are traditionally unsolvable problems for law enforcement related to this kind of cyber-crime.” Thousands of tips were received related to the criminal activities, with a core group of people who were able to analyze and backtrack from these clues. Subsequent to these individuals being identified, Valve has been working with various national authorities to prepare cases against those involved, leading to these arrests. “It was very uplifting to see how the community rallied and tracked these people down. Everyone here at Valve is once again reminded of how much we owe to the gaming community,” added Mr. Newell. For specific details on the arrests, please contact the Northwest Cyber Crime Task Force, Seattle, 206-262-2030.

Jun 10, 2004, 08:35 PM	#3
Asmoday Demonic Join Date: May 2002 Location: In the cold, dark north... Posts: 5,198 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Serves them good..!! __________________ How You can help Hardwareheaven by using Digg

Jun 10, 2004, 08:35 PM	#4
MIG-31 HardwareHeaven News Mod Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Nottingham,UK Posts: 56,854 Rep Power: 471 System Specs	'bout time. __________________ Please Post Your News Submissions Here

Jun 10, 2004, 09:01 PM	#7
BiGBrOwNPimpsta HH's #1 Hustla and Pimp Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: The Dirty Dot Posts: 7,717 Rep Power: 107 System Specs	did it say from which country these ppl were from? in an earlier article i heard germany __________________ Sound Blaster X-Fi Xtreme Music \| Logitech Z-5500 THX 5.1 Surround Sound Speakers \| 2 Lite-On 20x S-ATA Burners \| Logitech G700 Mouse \| Logitech MX5500 Bluetooth Keyboard

Jun 10, 2004, 09:06 PM	#8
The_Neon_Cowboy HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: U.S.A. Posts: 16,009 Rep Power: 92 System Specs	Cough? Old news? At lest It seems that way to me. Are these new people? Or the arrests that they made about month ago of the people that they believed that were responsible for the theft? http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=45797 http://www.hardwareheaven.com/showthre...threadid=45798 __________________

Jun 10, 2004, 08:33 PM	#2
Zardon DriverHeaven Founder Join Date: May 2002 Posts: 32,480 Rep Power: 179

Jun 10, 2004, 08:50 PM	#6
ChrisW DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2003 Posts: 332 Rep Power: 0	I hope they like tossing salad!

Jun 10, 2004, 09:11 PM	#9
dpagan DriverHeaven Lover Join Date: Apr 2004 Posts: 249 Rep Power: 0	now they'll be hack'd by inmates, there source well be in jeopardy

Jun 10, 2004, 09:44 PM	#10
No_Style Styleless Wonder Join Date: Jun 2002 Location: Ottawa, Ontario Posts: 6,034 Rep Power: 0	Nice. I like how very little details was given as to how many individuals were arrested, or where they were from. Could it be that they are under 18? I know some countries don't allow stuff like that being publically known until consent if you're under 18. __________________ "The Best Style Is No Style" Specifications Here

Jun 10, 2004, 10:11 PM	#11
germanjulian Back in London Join Date: Jul 2003 Location: London Posts: 1,797 Rep Power: 0	yeah .......... __________________ /\|\ Asus P5W DH Deluxe, Intel C2D E6600, 2GB Corsair XMS2-6400C4 DDR2, E-VGA GeForce 7800 GT, Creative X-Fi Extreme Music, 500GB Seagate 7200.10 SATA, Lian Li PC-V1100 Aluminum Case Black, etc. http://germanjulian.com /\|\

Jun 10, 2004, 10:26 PM	#12
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	“It was extraordinary to watch how quickly and how cleverly gamers were able to unravel what are traditionally unsolvable problems for law enforcement related to this kind of cyber-crime.”....that's b/c the government is slow and doesn't knwo what it should about computers...lol

Jun 10, 2004, 11:55 PM	#14
zerodamage HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 3,478 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	This may be released now to bring back the interest over HL2 also. I think the game is coming really soon.

Jun 11, 2004, 12:27 AM	#15
pr0digal jenius Delete Me Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 14,648 Rep Power: 0	haha...i've given up on it....doom 3 is gunna flush everyone else out, and they should just accept that

Jun 11, 2004, 12:37 AM	#16
jonis Alien mindbender Join Date: Dec 2002 Location: Valhalla Posts: 539 Rep Power: 0	WTG valve. Catch them bastards! __________________ [color=yellow]P4 2.533GHz 533MHz \| 2 x Samsung 512MB PC2700 (1GB) \| Hercules 3D Prophet 9700 Pro \| ASUS P4S8X (fw v1.005) \| SB Audigy Platinum WDC 120GB SE (8MB buffer) x 2 \| M$ intellimouse Explorer 3.0 \| WinXP SP-1 \| DX 9.0c & CATs 5.10 \| Viewsonic VP191b (19" TFT)[/color]

Jun 11, 2004, 01:22 AM	#17
Hellbent DriverHeaven Junior Member Join Date: Nov 2002 Posts: 48 Rep Power: 0	Now Bubba an say to them "hack this"

Jun 11, 2004, 03:12 AM	#19
merlinxi The Paranoid Cook Join Date: Feb 2004 Location: New Jersey Posts: 655 Rep Power: 0	Hmm... Impressive. Merlin __________________ 700 Watt Toughpower Cable Management Power supply -- Asus P55 LE Motherboard -- Intel Core i7 860 2.8GHZ Quad Core -- 6Gb Dominator Ram DD3 8 Latency Timings -- Windows 7 64bit -- Gigabyte GTX470 Superclocked Video Card -- 1.5 TB Hard drive, 1TB hard drive, 250GB Hard drive, and a partridge in a pear tree.

Jun 11, 2004, 01:27 AM	#18
MythicaL I like computers. Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: In front of a monitor Posts: 3,399 Rep Power: 89 System Specs	I saw this on CSNation __________________ Always knew I didn't belong in this world. I wasn't made for this. But I'll never forget those who betrayed me, and those who never failed my trust.

Jun 11, 2004, 03:27 AM	#20
blown503 HardwareHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2003 Location: S. Indiana Posts: 573 Rep Power: 0	I dont believe it, not enough info on the ones captured. I believe it is pr bull crap. __________________

Jun 11, 2004, 03:34 AM	#21
nForcer Twice the fun! Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 1,404 Rep Power: 0	A Wise Man Once Said... Son, (err) nForcer, Its only illegal if you get caught! ...Err yeah. :P

Jun 11, 2004, 08:54 AM	#22
Warpy DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Location: USA Posts: 2,761 Rep Power: 0	whats the source from this info? __________________ The nine most terrifying words in the English language are, "I'm from the government and I'm here to help."

Jun 11, 2004, 12:16 PM	#24
mkk Cthulhu/Dagon 2012 Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Gefle, Sweden Posts: 4,495 Rep Power: 132 System Specs	In other words a pretty unreliable source then. A bit more seriously, Valve probably hurt more from the embarrassment of the incident rather than the code theft itself. Their security was laughable and together with other revelations it was made pretty clear that the game was nowhere nearly done. Then as icing on the cake came Valves own silly behavior, trying to blame the code theft/leak for the delay. I would not be surprised at all if this news is going to be used as a smokescreen for yet another announcement of failure, and plead to the investors for more cash.

Jun 11, 2004, 03:52 PM	#25
Mazuko DriverHeaven Senior Member Join Date: Aug 2003 Location: Fredericksburg, VA Posts: 1,008 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	Um...how the heck can announcing that arrests were made have any effect on the game itself? Answer: It doesn't. Arrests and software programming are two completely different things..... __________________ E-bay feedback: http://feedback.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAP...me=STRK:ME:UFS

Jun 11, 2004, 04:16 PM	#26
zerodamage HardwareHeaven Extreme Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: Virginia, USA Posts: 3,478 Rep Power: 0 System Specs	I believe it is true and Valve is timing the information release to coincide with the launch. I believe we will see HL2 in the next few weeks.