Half-Life 2 source code theft arrests

[Mark Asher]

Half-Life 2 source code theft arrests (http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/06/10/news_6100381.html)
Gamespot's got the scoop:

The Half-Life 2 code theft saga entered a new chapter today when Valve Software announced a series of arrests had been made in the case. According to Valve, suspects in several countries had been taken into custody in relation to charges stemming from the theft of the Half-Life 2 code, distribution of the code, and breaking into Valve's network. The story goes on to state that it's unclear when the arrests were made. That's about the extent of the information being released at this time.

[Pie4Foo]

Perhaps they're unwilling to divulge those arrested because the case is still ongoing?

[DrDel]

"Everyone here at Valve is once again reminded of how much we owe to the gaming community."

THen release the f'n game already!!!

[Julzk]

I still love the whole excuse "the source code was stolen, the game has been delayed now since we must re-write the net code"...

Considering the leaked version of it I saw, the build date to the release date was impossible at the progress that was made in the game that was leaked. No way could they of released it within a couple of months from the date of the leaked hl2. The leaked hl2 was so not complete and so crap its not funny. And I agree.. HL2 should be released.. Although the recent video that was released of hl2 gives me a whole new view of the game and makes me want it again after I got over the "HL2 is coming!!!" and the "yay, hl2 will come soon, sometime, in the 2086" and over the excitement..

[Anti-Bunny]

OMG, FFFFREE KEVIN!

[snowcrash22]

I read this thread an hour ago before going to the grocery store. And during my errands, I saw a car with a FREE KEVIN bumpersticker....

...so someone out there is still carrying the torch.

[Sunny the Unemployed]

Lies! Everyone knows that this "source code theft" was merely an elaborate ploy to avoid releasing the game. Now the FBI is in cahoots too!

Now where did I put my tinfoil hat...

[simoniker]

Just giving this thread a quick bump, since there's a new UK Guardian article which gives away some more info, which I can add to, for the bored and terminally uninterested.

So, the Guardian article:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/online/story/0,3605,1260989,00.html

..says that the main HL2 code thief is German, and:

"Through conversations with this individual, [we] had convinced him to fly out to us in Seattle for a job interview. The plan was changed so German authorities would do the arrests on German soil."

This fits in with previous rumors that the HL2 thief is the same guy who coded the Agobot worm, which later morphed into Phatbot, and is a pretty dangerous little remote takeover util:

http://www.gamerswithjobs.com/index.php?module=News&func=display&sid=932

Furthermore, this seem to jibe with the idea that a certain IRC log, which was floating around just after the code theft, is the 'smoking gun', and is actually all true:

http://bpcity.hu/_daily/040517/another_log.txt

Particularly interesting - this 'Ago' chap says that he got into Valve's network via 'a pc in valves net, that wasnt directly controlled by valve'. How does that work? Read on..

Some versions of that log text file have details removed, but this one mentions the name of the site Ago found:

http://www.tangis.com

So, turns out Tangis is a wearable computing firm, now defunct, but it was run by Dan Newell:

http://web.archive.org/web/20030413013030/tangis.com/about/management.htm

..who I believe is Gabe Newell's brother. What's more:

http://web.archive.org/web/20030413013342/tangis.com/about/contact.htm

The offices of Tangis are 'currently located in downtown Bellevue in Bellevue Place - 10th Floor Room 42'. Which, as far as I understand it, is the actual location of the Valve offices. So this is the machine the hackers probably got in through - it looks to me like Tangis.com was an outward-facing web server that was actually part of Valve's internal network.

Some of this is speculation, obviously - there will be a trial pending, so I doubt we'll get much more info for now, but I'd love to know if Ago intentionally got in through Tangis.com, knowing it to be part of the Valve net, or whether it was just the luckiest, most evil find ever.

s!

[Tim Partlett]

Particularly interesting - this 'Ago' chap says that he got into Valve's network via 'a pc in valves net, that wasnt directly controlled by valve'. How does that work? Read on..

Probably a unprotected laptop jacked into the local network.

[Guido Jones]

The offices of Tangis are 'currently located in downtown Bellevue in Bellevue Place - 10th Floor Room 42'. Which, as far as I understand it, is the actual location of the Valve offices.
s!

Valve has a PO Box in Bellevue, but their offices were in Kirkland last I checked.

[Poops McGee]

Check again. They moved from Kirkland to downtown Bellevue, into Bellevue Place, that building cross corners to Bell Square, with Daniel's Broiler in it. I think that was like 9 months ago.

[Guido Jones]

Ahhh that's cool. I live like 3 blocks from there :P

[Jeremy Johnsen]

So go ask them when the game will be done already.