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The Trap Set By the FBI For Half Life 2 Hacker
Posted by
timothy
on Thu Nov 13, 2008 06:37 PM
from the well-deserved-shadenfreude dept.
from the well-deserved-shadenfreude dept.
eldavojohn writes "You might remember the tiny news that Half Life 2 source code was leaked in 2003 ... it is the 6th most visited Slashdot story with over one kilocomment. Well, did anything happen to the source of the leak, the German hacker Axel 'Ago' Gembe? Wired is reporting he was offered a job interview so that Valve could get him into the US and bag him for charges. It's not the first time the FBI tried this trick: 'The same Seattle FBI office had successfully used an identical gambit in 2001, when they created a fake startup company called Invita, and lured two known Russian hackers to the US for a job interview, where they were arrested.'"
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Games: Half Life 2 Source Code Leaked 1027 comments
Pyroman[FO] writes "Gamers with Jobs is reporting that the Half Life 2 source code is floating around the net right now. It looks to be about a month old. There's no official word from Valve on the source code leak yet. Unfortunately those who want to use it to cheat already have it, we need to get the word to legitimate customers to educate them about the situation." Update: 10/02 21:51 GMT by S : Valve's Gabe Newell has an official statement, via ShackNews/HalfLife2.net, indicating "infiltration of our network" and appealing for information on the culprits.
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Old News (Score:5, Informative)
shouldn't be legal (Score:4, Insightful)
I don't care what the guy has done, tricks like this should not be legal.
Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
Why not?
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
It's not an issue of protecting the source code -- I think even the FBI is minimally competent enough to realize that cat's out of the bag -- it's an issue of punishing the guy for the computer tresspass etc..
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
It depends on where he committed the crime. He's a german citizen commiting a crime in germany (and he was punished for it under german law) then that FBI can GTFO as far as I'm concerned. If they were that bothered they could have applied for extradition rather that using underhand tricks.
No different from the Dimitri Skylarov case, except he was arrested for something that wasn't even a crime in his home country.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
Funny how physical location doesn't matter on the internet right up until a "hacker" does something "heroic", and then suddenly it's all "nyah nyah, jurisdiction".
He committed a crime against a US entity. He was then foolish enough to put himself within US law enforcement. He's now suffering the consequences of his crime and his stupidity.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Informative)
Entrapment is when the authorities cause you to commit a crime (that you wouldn't otherwise) which is not the case here since the crime was already committed.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Informative)
Entrapment is tricking someone into committing a crime. This is more like when the police send out raffle prize announcements to everyone with outstanding warrants and arresting them when they show up.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
There's a hidden assumption in there - actually several. They may be correct, but your point is only valid if they're all correct.
Some (if not all) of those points need to have been checked before spending American TaxPayer's money on this (via the FBI). It's quite plausible that no crime, by American rules, has been committed. It's equally plausible that an alleged crime is not supported by sufficient evidence to succeed with an extradition request under German law.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
What is the difference?
If the computer storing the game bits of code is based in the US, and he attacks it (hacks it), then he committed a crime under US law.
Do you really mean that Chinese people do not commit a crime by talking about "taboo topics" as long as they do that on US-based Blogspot?
The guy has undergone a trial in Germany already, and has been condemned already. What makes it fair for him to be charged twice for the same crime?
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
Wasting money protecting source code after the event.
Any time the police arrests a criminal, it is by definition after the event. Sometimes the damage can be undone, as in theft. Sometimes it cannot, as in murder. We still want criminals punished to deter others.
If you truly don't want source code leaks punished because it's a waste of your tax dollars, you're welcome to lobby to change the law. However, I'm sure other tax payers, such as corporations that own source code, would lobby to keep it.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
However, I'm sure other tax payers, such as corporations that own source code, would lobby to keep it.
Waitaminute. It's not being a taxpayer that gives someone a stake in the government - it's being a citizen, and having a vote. That means that a lifelong welfare recipient and a survivalist hermit, neither of whom pay a dollar of tax in their lives, have a representative in Washington who is supposed to look out for their interests and listen to their concerns. A corporation, regardless of how much tax it pays, is not supposed to have such representation.
Sorry for jumping on you here, but I think that the way your post is expressed - implying that a corporate taxpayer deserves representation - is a dangerous subversion of democracy.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
Sorry for jumping on you here, but I think that the way your post is expressed - implying that a corporate taxpayer deserves representation - is a dangerous subversion of democracy.
It's a dangerous subversion of democracy, but it's also the real situation in the US(1). The CEO of Chrysler has as much voting power of a single welfare recipient. To whom do you think elected officials listen?
Besides, while corporations don't have votes, they do have employees. I'd be reluctant to vote for a candidate whose policies will hurt IBM. When your employer suffers, you usually suffer too.
(1) Arguably, it's also the system working as designed. Many of thhe founding fathers were scared of democracy, and much preferred an aristocratic republic on the Roman model.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
Yeah, as a taxpayer, I'm really upset too when the police waste money trying to arrest a murderer after the event. I mean, the victim's already dead, so they're wasting money trying to protect him. If someone releases a book about the murder, then follow the money. Otherwise, big deal.
In case the previous paragraph didn't drip enough sarcasm in your direction, let's try this another way. It's the job of the police to investigate crimes that have occurred and to arrest those that they have reasonable grounds to believe are guilty. In this case, police have reasonable grounds to arrest him on suspicion of having committed a crime (some variant of breaking into a computer). What does it matter how much or how little he profited from the crime? That's for the judge to take into account, not the police.
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So if Valve doesn't care if your TV is stolen (Score:5, Insightful)
I love how so many Slashdotters are absolutists about following the law - until someone they disagree with is protected by it.
Don't let your dogma run over your karma.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
Except it's not fraud, and it's not illegal. What the government did, arresting a foreign criminal who committed a crime in the USA, is perfectly legal. How they got him to enter into the USA, by setting up a fake job interview, is also perfectly legal. I can set up fake job interviews with as many people as I want. So can the feds. It's not against the law.
But what most people seem to be missing is the sheer stupidity of the criminal. If a company I had hacked into, stolen source code from, and embarrassed publicly suddenly invited me to their corporate HQ in a foreign country, I would be a weee bit suspcious.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
At the very least advertising a non-existent job should be punishable under "false advertising" laws.
False advertising laws are in place to protect consumers from abuse. Advertising a job interview is not the same as advertising a product. It's perfectly legal for me to invite as many people as I want to my office for an interview -- and no job need exist for me to do that. I can interview them all, get all their resumes, and never follow up with a single one of them. It's not illegal, nor should it be. After all, if it were illegal, why would it be illegal? Have I deprived anyone of life, liberty, or property? I have not. If people came and wasted their time, they did so voluntarily.
You need to get out of this mindset that something "ought to be illegal" just because you don't like it.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Funny)
Wont's someone please think of the criminals?
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
By the way, this does happen. 2/3rds of the time you hear about some American "kidnapped" by Iran, it turns out there's some legal basis for it - in Iran, of course. (e.g. "Not without my daughter" [wikipedia.org] and Haleh Esfandiari [msn.com]. Does that mean Iran is right? Nah, it means be careful where you go.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Funny)
"A boat's a boat, but the mystery box could be anything.
It could even be a boat!"
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
The judges in the small county I used to work in (Charles County, MD) were notoriously tough on cocaine dealers. The neighboring jurisdiction was so overwhemled with drugs that drug dealers in that county were typically given much lighter sentences. The disparity was so great that smart dealers refused to deal in Charles County. Instead, they would arrange deals next to the border without actually ever crossing into Charles Co.
So when the Charles County Sheriff's Office wanted to mount a major drug sting, they moved the "Welcome to Charles County" sign back a hundred feet or so, and would arrange deals just across the border. We put away a lot of bad people for a long time. Brilliant.
Um... Yeah. I have no problem with this.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
if they were legal, they would do the same thing.
Why didn't this happen back when all drugs were available over-the-counter?
-jcr
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
Where are the studies saying it didn't.
Pick up a history book sometime. You might learn something.
-jcr
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
OK, MDMA was given to people as a mood elevator in the 70s and 80s.
MDMA is a methamphetamine derived chemical. There is (if memory serves me well enough) either 2 or 3 differences in the chain.
They also DID prescribe methamphetamine as a mood elevator, as well as a brochiodilator.
Methamphetamine was given to our troops in Viet Nam. A good friend of mine actually has a bottle of it (the empty bottle, the contents where LONG ago consumed). His argument for having it is: I'm a methamphetamine addict. I had never touched it, nor heard of it, until Viet Nam. My government gave me pretty much all I wanted then. So, they gave me the FUCKING habit. Should I ever be arrested, this is a DAMNING piece of evidence. I don't think he would do very well, but it still serves as evidence of Methamphetamine ABuse from our government in the 60s / 70s.
Matter of fact, Methamphetamine is STILL legally prescribed in the United States. It's used for SEVERE obesity as well as narcolepsy. VERY few people get it for ADD/HD as well.
Cocaine? Yup, we have that as well. Most opthamology shops set up for surgery (not your basic eyeglasses plus type place, or julios lasic clinic, but REAL eye surgeons), they get Cocaine. It's one of, if not the only anesthetic used IN the eyeball.
Coca Cola ALSO STILL uses Coca in their drink. The Coca BASE (which is cocaine, after refining) is whisked away for no apparent reason (I'd say, more than likely, for the production of legal cocaine, for eye dox, but I'm sure they don't say for security reasons) is brought to the states. Matter of fact, Coca Cola Bottling is the BIGGEST single purchaser of Coca in the world.
Care to anonymously talk about this some more? I tend to know a bit more than the average idiot about drugs, drug use, pharmacology, and the such. Growing up in one of the largest methamphetamine production towns in the world during the 80s kinda does that for ya.
--Toll_Free
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:4, Insightful)
I have a problem the same way I have a problem with someone stealing for booze. or getting drunk and driving over someone, or going on a murderous rampage while drunk. All of which happen far more often then the crackhead equivalents.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
I've seen big hard men reduced to quivering crying babies after thinking they could handle LSD.
I'm not saying that if you have the right attitude you won't freak, but when you freak (and everybody does sooner or later) you can handle it. I had to get someone to turn the stereo off once before the song reached a certain line, because I was so immersed that I felt that hearing the line in question was going to kill me. (Pink Floyd - Comfortably Numb).
Remember in the Matrix, Neo asked "if you die inside the Matrix, you die in real life too ?", Morpheus said "The body cannot live without the mind". This is quite possible. If I had been taking acid when the Matrix came out, I would probably never had taken as much as I did. As it happened, I stopped doing LSD a good decade before that film.
Pro-tip : never trip by yourself, always share the experience with a friend (who is in the same state). Know when to say no. If you have even the slightest fear about doing it - don't do it. That fear is the seed of a Bad Trip. It IS pitch black, and you ARE likely to be eaten by a Grue.
Beginners tip : just don't. But if you do, get as far away from civilisation as you can before you do it, and enjoy the stars or something. Avoid natural hazards (cliffs, ravines, rivers) and keep your clothes on ! Also, read the pro-tip.
My final word here is just to stress that hard drug taking is not like a funfair ride. You can't just get off the ride when you feel like it, and it will change you and your life, immediately and for ever more, even after just one trip. You will never be the same person ever again. None of what I just said is related to addiction, just the fallout from the experience. So, ask yourself - Do I feel lucky ?
Disclaimer : I am not a doctor, I am not your doctor. I post here to redress the imbalance of information between people who think drugs are cool and spout off bullshit, and those who have actually been down that road and survived (just). I will never and have never encouraged anybody to take drugs.
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
If the perp is stupid enough to travel to a country where he's wanted, that's evolution in action.
-jcr
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
This is not a case of entrapment because the person was not induced to commit an offense. He was induced to come to the country after the offense was committed.
A good example of entrapment would be if the FBI tricked him in to coming in the country and then arrested him for coming in to the country illegally (invalid visa or some such).
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Insightful)
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Re:shouldn't be legal (Score:5, Interesting)
He DIDN'T commit the crime! RTFA!!!
He told others that he got into valve, said others figured out how he did it and stole the code.
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Charged in Germany anyway (Score:5, Informative)
The article mentions that this trap failed. Apparently he suspected something.
Anyway, Gembe was sentenced to probation in Germany for the breach and leak. Interesting that the FBI apparently took this so much more seriously than the German courts.
Re:Charged in Germany anyway (Score:4, Interesting)
Well, just before 09/11, the FBI retasked most of their anti-terror team to work on copyright. Says something about their priorities. Or rather, the priorities of those in charge of their budget.
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myg0t (Score:5, Informative)
Note to self (Score:5, Funny)
Do not go somewhere where I'm wanted. Stay in the countries where there are NO warrants for my arrests.
In this job market (Score:5, Funny)
that's just cruel.
Apart from the HL2 Source Code (Score:5, Insightful)
Apart from the HL2 source code being realease into the wild (which I agree was a big thing), the stuff this guy did to get the source code is probably a bigger deal. He compromised Valve's machines. He broke into their network. He installed keyloggers. He hijacked email accounts. He (maybe) initiated DoS attacks on their servers. Even if he did not steal and release the HL2 source code (trade secrets) what he did was pretty damn wrong... and illegal in most places of the world. The FBI, in my opinion, has every right to chase this guy (no, I do not live in the US). Chase the guy, catch him and let him rot in jail. Summary: the HL2 source code release, at this point in time, is not the big deal; it's all the other laws he broke.
Re:Kilocomment? (Score:5, Funny)
depends ...
Is a kilocomment 1000 or 1024 comments ?!?
If i am supposed to slow down...about telling me how slow
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Re:Kilocomment? (Score:5, Informative)
A kibicomment is 1024 comments.
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Re:Kilocomment? (Score:5, Funny)
There's a difference between a Kilobyte(1000) and a Kibibyte. (1024)
The Kibibyte was coined to distinguish the former from the latter.
For more information, please refer to this chart: http://xkcd.com/394/
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Re:Kilocomment? (Score:5, Insightful)
What I don't understand is why we allowed some asshole RAM and HDD manufacturers to steal our word?
Speaking as someone who grew up learning that "kilo-" means 1000, what I don't understand why we allowed some asshole CS people to steal our prefix?
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Re:Kilocomment? (Score:5, Funny)
Speaking as someone who grew up learning that "kilo-" means 1000, what I don't understand why we allowed some asshole CS people to steal our prefix?
Because base-10 is soooo 1900s. Get with the program.
--
One-one was a race horse, One-two was one too.
One-one won one race, One-two won one two.
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!#@%! Metric (Score:5, Funny)
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Re:What happens when other countries do that too ? (Score:5, Interesting)
If you are wanted for a crime in some country, you should avoid:
1) Going to that country
2) Going to countries with extradition agreements with that country
If you are dumb enough to go to the country, you deserve to be arrested.
How would I feel if someone tricked dumb American criminals into getting arrested? Pretty good. We could use less criminals on the streets. Feel free.
This isn't exactly a civil rights issue.
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Re:What happens when other countries do that too ? (Score:4, Funny)
will you arrogant americans stomach your citizens being arrested in set traps worldwide ?
A friend of mine is set to be drafted immediately into their military if he ever sets foot in Turkey, since he was born in a Turkish hospital. That said, do you think he's dumb enough to accept a job interview for a Turkish company? It doesn't matter how delicious it sounds, he's not biting.
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Re:What happens when other countries do that too ? (Score:5, Interesting)
I can say this because I hold citizenship in three countries. And have lived in all three would rather tangle with the american law enforcement then the other two.
When Michael Fay was caned in Singapore for vandalism, the majority of the USA cheered, because he acted like an ass in another country, and he deserved what he got.
I had the misfortune of meeting the prick years later, and he almost got caned again with a pool cue.
But in the US there is a saying. IF you can't do the time, do'nt do the crime.
Nothing arrogant about the way they were caught.
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Re:a fun bit of trivia (Score:4, Informative)
Except according to this wikipedia entry [wikipedia.org] it's called src/source because it was forked of the GoldSrc engine [wikipedia.org] and they just shorten the name of the new dir to Src.
Your story seemed to unlikely that I just had to check it up somewhat.
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Re:a fun bit of trivia (Score:5, Informative)
When we were getting very close to releasing Half-Life 1 (less than a week or so), we found there were already some projects that we needed to start working on, but we couldn't risk checking in code to the shipping version of the game. At that point we forked off the code in VSS to be both $/Goldsrc and /$Src. Over the next few years, we used these terms internally as "Goldsource" and "Source". At least initially, the Goldsrc branch of code referred to the codebase that was currently released, and Src referred to the next set of more risky technology that we were working on. When it came down to show Half-Life 2 for the first time at E3, it was part of our internal communication to refer to the "Source" engine vs. the "Goldsource" engine, and the name stuck.
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