Software piracy has always been a big problem for the games industry, last year accounting for an estimated US$3 billion in lost revenue.
However, it is the theft of pre-release game code, which allows gamers to illegally download work-in-progress versions of games, that is causing most concern for developers, an unease heightened by last year's massive source code leak of Valve Soft-ware's hugely anticipated PC shooter, Half-Life 2.
In January, it came to light that the FBI, Scotland Yard and the German authorities, along with the Half-Life 2 fan community, had been searching for the culprits since the leak was announced last October. Last month, the thieves were arrested in Germany and other undisclosed countries.
Having accessed Valve's server through a security -- bypassing loophole in Windows, the hackers were able to download an early and hugely incomplete version of Half-Life 2 and post it on the Internet for downloading via Usenet.
A boxed version of the code was even on sale on the Ukrainian and Russian black markets.
"Once into our network, hacking tools were installed, and a custom source control client created to extract the Half-Life 2 code," explains Gabe Newell, Valve's managing director.
"This continued until October, when one of the hackers distributed one of my e-mails on a Web site. We knew something was horribly wrong with our network, and took steps to prevent further incursions. This was followed shortly after by the hackers releasing the source code," Newell said.
The leak set the project back several months as Valve reassessed its network's security and that of the game's networking code.
"It's analogous to JK Rowling waking up to find the outline to the next Harry Potter book online," Newell said.
The hunt for the hackers centered around two major investigations. The first was led by the FBI's Cybercrime Task Force, who examined machines for clues as to the source of the hack, then find that machine and so on.
"The second investigation was run by the gaming community. Fairly quickly after the source code was leaked, we sent out mail to the gaming community appealing for assistance in tracking down the perpetrators," he said.
"We set up an e-mail alias for people to submit information, and amassed thousands of pieces of evidence in a few days. That information was also redistributed within the community itself, as a smaller group took it upon itself to unmask the people," Newell said.
"This non-traditional approach had the advantage of scale and of involving a large number of very sophisticated and motivated people," he said.
It wasn't long before both parties made inroads into identifying the thieves, with the gaming community and the FBI independently tracking the primary hacker to Germany.
The risk of being apprehended prompted the primary instigator to contact Newell. He admitted hacking into Valve's server, but denied any role in the theft, instead naming those responsible for distributing the stolen code.
"We now had three independent ways of confirming this primary instigator and, through conversations with this individual, 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," Newell said.
Investigations are continuing, with those involved found to have links with similar crimes.
Valve is preparing to sue the hackers for damages, while working towards an end-of-summer release date for Half-Life 2 -- widely considered the most anticipated shooter in PC gaming history.
The repercussions have been felt throughout the gaming indus-try, with numerous developers reassessing security measures.
"When we heard what had happened with Half-Life 2 we were appalled," said Jonty Barnes, head of Black & White Studios, a satellite company of UK-based Lionhead Studios.
"We even considered disconnecting the company from outside connections until we were satis-fied," Barnes said.
With new security protocols in place in the majority of the leading development houses, the chances of a similar leak have been reduced, while the capture of those responsible will have been a warning to hackers, especially now that the very audience they claim to cater for -- hardcore gaming fans -- have played such a role in unmasking them.
NO-LIMITS PARTNERSHIP: ‘The bottom line’ is that if the US were to have a conflict with China or Russia it would likely open up a second front with the other, a US senator said Beijing and Moscow could cooperate in a conflict over Taiwan, the top US intelligence chief told the US Senate this week. “We see China and Russia, for the first time, exercising together in relation to Taiwan and recognizing that this is a place where China definitely wants Russia to be working with them, and we see no reason why they wouldn’t,” US Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines told a US Senate Committee on Armed Services hearing on Thursday. US Senator Mike Rounds asked Haines about such a potential scenario. He also asked US Defense Intelligence Agency Director Lieutenant General Jeffrey Kruse
INSPIRING: Taiwan has been a model in the Asia-Pacific region with its democratic transition, free and fair elections and open society, the vice president-elect said Taiwan can play a leadership role in the Asia-Pacific region, vice president-elect Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) told a forum in Taipei yesterday, highlighting the nation’s resilience in the face of geopolitical challenges. “Not only can Taiwan help, but Taiwan can lead ... not only can Taiwan play a leadership role, but Taiwan’s leadership is important to the world,” Hsiao told the annual forum hosted by the Center for Asia-Pacific Resilience and Innovation think tank. Hsiao thanked Taiwan’s international friends for their long-term support, citing the example of US President Joe Biden last month signing into law a bill to provide aid to Taiwan,
China’s intrusive and territorial claims in the Indo-Pacific region are “illegal, coercive, aggressive and deceptive,” new US Indo-Pacific Commander Admiral Samuel Paparo said on Friday, adding that he would continue working with allies and partners to keep the area free and open. Paparo made the remarks at a change-of-command ceremony at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam in Hawaii, where he took over the command from Admiral John Aquilino. “Our world faces a complex problem set in the troubling actions of the People’s Republic of China [PRC] and its rapid buildup of forces. We must be ready to answer the PRC’s increasingly intrusive and
STATE OF THE NATION: The legislature should invite the president to deliver an address every year, the TPP said, adding that Lai should also have to answer legislators’ questions The Chinese Nationalist Party (KMT) yesterday proposed inviting president-elect William Lai (賴清德) to make a historic first state of the nation address at the legislature following his inauguration on May 20. Lai is expected to face many domestic and international challenges, and should clarify his intended policies with the public’s representatives, KMT caucus secretary-general Hung Meng-kai (洪孟楷) said when making the proposal at a meeting of the legislature’s Procedure Committee. The committee voted to add the item to the agenda for Friday, along with another similar proposal put forward by the Taiwan People’s Party (TPP). The invitation is in line with Article 15-2