The FBI has charged three men with entering into the computer systems of Microsoft and other companies in order to obtain early copies of Xbox 360 and PC games. One of the three men in this case is also linked to an Australian teenager who previously leaked information about Microsoft"s Xbox One to the public before it was officially announced.
The Smoking Gun reports that the three men that were charged are Nathan Leroux, 19 of Wisconsin; Sanadodeh Nesheiwat, 28 of New Jersey; and David Pokora of Canada. A federal grand jury has previously indicted the three men in July in a sealed decision but Leroux and Nesheiwat were finally arrested in their homes last week. The current status of Pokora is unknown.
All three men were charged with 15 felonies, including fraud, conspiracy and computer hacking. The FBI claims the men entered into computer systems owned by Microsoft and others from 2011 to 2013 via stolen login information. One of the other companies they attacked was the video game developer Zombie Studios, which was also working on a contract to make a helicopter simulator for the U.S. Army. This connection allowed the hackers to get in a Army server as well, according to the FBI.
The report also alleges that the three men got access to hardware information about Microsoft"s Xbox One console well before it was announced and used it to create a fake Xbox One that sold on eBay. In addition, the report claims Pokora sought help in decrypting some of Microsoft"s files from an Australian teenager that is only identified as "D.W", That person is apparently Dylan Wheeler, who, using the handle "SuperDaE", leaked information about the Xbox One to media outlets like Kotaku months before the console was announced. In February 2013, Wheeler"s home was raided by police and he was charged with a number of crimes.
Source: The Smoking Gun via WinBeta | Image via Microsoft