Cracker Half Life 2 tried to lure in the US
As it became known, the FBI again tried to apply the old trick with the creation of a fake vacancy and inviting a foreign hacker into the country allegedly to negotiate for a job, after which he was immediately arrested. If in 2001 Russian hackers became the victims of the special services (they came for an interview at the fake Invita startup), then German hacker Axel 'Ago' Gemba (Axel 'Ago' Gembe) avoided their unhappy fate. If anyone does not remember, then back in 2003, Axel had a hand in the theft of the source codes of the still-unfinished Half-Life 2 shooter.
Gamba hacked into the corporate system of the Valve Software development companies, extracted the source code and put it into file-sharing networks. Five years ago, this story got a wide response and became one of the main scandals of the year in the gaming industry. Wired magazine published details of the special operation, as well as the FBI's correspondence with the German police on the case (it was leaked to the press in Germany).
Americans worked along the same lines. Initially, they did not know the identity of the hacker, but only his anonymous e-mail (he himself sent a letter to Valve). On the advice of the FBI, Valve began a correspondence with Gembe, who expressed interest in finding employment in the company. In the process of correspondence on the “Klujs”, the letters revealed the residence and real name of the hacker (apparently, he relaxed and sent some letters from his home computer).
In March 2004, Valve employees organized a 40-minute phone call interview with Gembomb, during which he confirmed his name, described in detail the process of obtaining root rights in the corporate network using remote CGI exploits and other software. After that, 21-year-old Gambe sent his resume to the company.
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Managers of Valve handed over a resume to the special services and invited Gemba to an in-person meeting, promising to pay all the expenses: tickets, room and board for the trip, as well as expenses for changing the place of residence (standard condition for gaming business).
However, for some reason, Gamba didn’t peck at the bait, so the FBI transferred the case to its German colleagues, and as a result, the hacker was convicted under the much softer laws of Germany.
However, the Americans still have not forgotten Gemba (he is still mentioned in their lists of criminals), so he will be instantly arrested upon entering the United States.
Gamba hacked into the corporate system of the Valve Software development companies, extracted the source code and put it into file-sharing networks. Five years ago, this story got a wide response and became one of the main scandals of the year in the gaming industry. Wired magazine published details of the special operation, as well as the FBI's correspondence with the German police on the case (it was leaked to the press in Germany).
Americans worked along the same lines. Initially, they did not know the identity of the hacker, but only his anonymous e-mail (he himself sent a letter to Valve). On the advice of the FBI, Valve began a correspondence with Gembe, who expressed interest in finding employment in the company. In the process of correspondence on the “Klujs”, the letters revealed the residence and real name of the hacker (apparently, he relaxed and sent some letters from his home computer).
In March 2004, Valve employees organized a 40-minute phone call interview with Gembomb, during which he confirmed his name, described in detail the process of obtaining root rights in the corporate network using remote CGI exploits and other software. After that, 21-year-old Gambe sent his resume to the company.
')
Managers of Valve handed over a resume to the special services and invited Gemba to an in-person meeting, promising to pay all the expenses: tickets, room and board for the trip, as well as expenses for changing the place of residence (standard condition for gaming business).
However, for some reason, Gamba didn’t peck at the bait, so the FBI transferred the case to its German colleagues, and as a result, the hacker was convicted under the much softer laws of Germany.
However, the Americans still have not forgotten Gemba (he is still mentioned in their lists of criminals), so he will be instantly arrested upon entering the United States.
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/44607/
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