DOES THIS MEAN THEY’RE GOING TO BAN ARADUNE? [Author: Tick]
In a chain of events that can only be described as “ironic,” a 17-year-old hacker has been picked up for using a hacked “superuser” EverQuest account. An excerpt from the Seattle Times article shows the difference between what happens when YOU get hacked and Brad McQuaid gets hacked:
Federal agents have seized 10 computers and other computer gear from the home of a Snoqualmie teen suspected of hacking into Sony’s extremely popular online game “EverQuest.”
The hacking would have given him access to personal information on hundreds of thousands of players and Sony employees.
Agents also say the hacker, who was 17 at the time, was able to access the home computer of the company’s vice president of product development, Brad McQuaid, and downloaded documents for an as-yet-unreleased version of the popular role-playing fantasy game.
Wonder if this is going to change their stance on hacked accounts…
Update – 31 August 2001, 5:40PM: John Smedley released the following statement regarding the hacking incident:
We have seen the article in the Seattle Times regarding an incident almost a year ago in which someone apparently got a hold of one or more superuser accounts for a short period of time. We want to assure our customers that at no time was any consumer billing information compromised. Noone should be worried that their credit card information got out… IT DID NOT. In addition, some time ago we added additional layers of security in an effort to prevent this from happening again. Beyond this, it is inappropriate for us to comment in light of the ongoing investigation.