Full Story:
ARRESTS MADE IN RELATION TO HALF-LIFE 2 THEFT
Online Community Tracks Down Hackers
June, 10 2004 - Arrests have been made in several countries related to the break-in to Valve's network, theft of the Half-Life 2 source
code, and release of the source code on the Internet.
"Within a few days of the announcement of the break-in, the online gaming community had tracked down those involved," said Gabe Newell,
Valve's CEO. "It was extraordinary to watch how quickly and how cleverly gamers were able to unravel what are traditionally unsolvable
problems for law enforcement related to this kind of cyber-crime."
Thousands of tips were received related to the criminal activities, with a core group of people who were able to analyze and backtrack
from these clues. Subsequent to these individuals being identified, Valve has been working with various national authorities to prepare
cases against those involved, leading to these arrests.
"It was very uplifting to see how the community rallied and tracked these people down. Everyone here at Valve is once again reminded of
how much we owe to the gaming community," added Mr. Newell.
For specific details on the arrests, please contact the Northwest Cyber Crime Task Force, Seattle, 206-262-2030.
