Tag Archive for: Nintendo

A security researcher has been sentenced for hacking into Nintendo and Microsoft’s servers

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A former security researcher at MalwareBytes, Zammis Clark, was sentenced earlier this week for breaching into Microsoft and Nintendo network servers and stealing confidential data, as well as usernames and passwords, according to The Verge. The attacker had also uploaded malware to the servers.

Clark, who was still working for MalwareBytes at the time of the Microsoft attack in January of 2017, had stolen around 43,000 files from the Redmond company’s servers thanks to the attack. After gaining access to the servers, he shared that access with other users on the internet as well, including Thomas Hounsell, who is known for running the now-defunct BuildFeed website. Hounsell used this route to gain information on Microsoft’s products through nearly 1,000 queries over a period of 17 days.

Clark was eventually arrested for his actions in June of 2017, but was released without any restrictions on computer use, so in March of last year, Nintendo also came under attack by the hacker. Clark gained access to the company’s game development servers and stole 2,365 usernames and passwords until he was caught in May. Between the Nintendo and Microsoft breaches, Clark caused damages anywhere between $2.9 and $3.8 million.

Clark had also been involved in a previous security breach around Vtech’s children toys in 2015, but hadn’t been accused since the company didn’t collaborate with the prosecution on the case and Clark walked free.

Clark will at least avoid any prison time, provided that no additional crimes are committed. Due to his autism and face blindness, in addition to the fact that Clark pleaded guilty to the attacks, Judge Alexander Miller decided that prison would be disproportionally harsh for the hacker. He was sentenced to 15 months of imprisonment, suspended for 18 months. He was also granted a Serious Crime Prevention Order which will mean an unlimited fine and up to five years of prison time should he commit any serious offenses for the next five years.

Thomas Hounsell, on the other hand, was sentenced to just six months of imprisonment, but the sentence…

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Nintendo says thank you after hacker Gary Bowser is given 40-month sentence

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What just happened? The long-running saga of unfortunately-named Nintendo hacker Gary Bowser has come to an end with a 40-month prison sentence. The Team Xecuter member, who isn’t related to Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser or the Mario antagonist, was charged with two piracy-related federal felonies, for which Nintendo has publicly thanked authorities.

Bowser had been a member of the Team Xecuter hacking group—the DOJ called him a “prominent leader”—that had been creating and selling Nintendo hacking devices since at least 2013. The tools allowed buyers to circumvent security measures, enabling them to play illegal ROMs on consoles/handhelds such as the Switch, 3DS, and Nintendo Wii.

Bowser was arrested in 2020 along with fellow Team Xecuter member Max Louarn on 11 felony counts of piracy. In April last year, Nintendo of America launched a lawsuit against Bowser, asking for $2,500 for each trafficked device and $150,000 for each copyright violation. He initially denied the charges but changed his plea to guilty a few months later and was ordered to pay Nintendo $4.5 million.

A Team-Xecuter rCM Loader for the Nintendo Switch

Bowser was also facing a civil suit from Nintendo. Given that he had already pleaded guilty to the criminal case, he ended up settling with the company in December for $10 million. In court documents, Bowser said he was paid $1,000 a month to market and distribute the hacking devices to retailers.

The US government’s prosecution argued that Team Xecuter’s actions resulted in $65 million in losses for Nintendo and asked for five years imprisonment for Bowser. His defense said he was the “least culpable” of the three arrested members and asked for 19 months, which would have seen him spend 3 months in prison given his time served. The US District Court for the Western District of Washington sentenced him to 40 months.

The DOJ also charged the other Team Xecuter members, Louarn (of France) and Yuanning Chen (of China), but neither are in custody.

Nintendo gave the following statement in response to the sentence.

Nintendo appreciates the hard work and tireless efforts of federal prosecutors and law enforcement…

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Nintendo Hacker Jailed – Infosecurity Magazine

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A California man who admitted hacking into the computer system of Japanese gaming giant Nintendo and leaking proprietary data has been sentenced to three years in prison.

Palmdale resident Ryan S. Hernandez, now aged 21, was still a minor when he and an associate used a phishing technique to steal the credentials of a Nintendo employee in 2016. 

The credentials were exploited to access and download confidential files relating to the company’s games and consoles, which were then leaked to the public. Pre-release information about the anticipated Nintendo Switch console was among the data leaked. 

In 2017, FBI agents contacted Hernandez, also known as Ryan West and by his online moniker “RyanRocks,” and his parents regarding the hack. Despite promising agents that he would not engage in any further cyber-criminal activity, Hernandez went on to hack into multiple Nintendo servers and steal confidential information about video games, developer tools, and gaming consoles from at least June 2018 to June 2019. 

The indiscreet hacker boasted about his crimes on Twitter and Discord, the group-chatting platform that was originally built for gamers. He even created an online chat forum, eponymously named “Ryan’s Underground Hangout,” where he chatted with people about Nintendo products, shared some of the data he had stolen from the company, and highlighted possible vulnerabilities in Nintendo’s computer network.

Hernandez’ activities did not go unnoticed by the FBI, who searched his home in June 2019 and seized circumvention devices used to access pirated video games and software. Agents also seized numerous computers and hard drives, upon which were discovered thousands of confidential files belonging to Nintendo. 

Forensic analysis of devices belonging to Hernandez revealed that the teen had used the internet to amass a collection of over 1,000 videos and images depicting minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct. This cache of child sexual abuse material was stored and sorted in a folder directory labeled “Bad Stuff.”

In January 2020, Hernandez pleaded guilty to computer fraud and abuse and to possession of child pornography and agreed to pay $259,323 in…

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Genki’s Covert Dock is the perfect dock for the Nintendo Switch — and other gadgets, too – TechCrunch

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Genki’s Covert Dock is the perfect dock for the Nintendo Switch — and other gadgets, too  TechCrunch
“Don’t Plug Your Phone into a Charger You Don’t Own” – read more