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The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

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Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#101

Post by atmosx »

ago wrote: post #50
MisterMashable wrote: post #8

This was an amazing and somewhat sad story. How's Gembe doing today? Based on his near adoration of the Valve developers, it would be fitting if he worked in the gaming industry. Maybe he could set things right by helping to make Half-Life 3?

I worked programming fire alarm systems for a while, embedded device programming and test automation. Now I started doing realtime graphics in Bejing. Working on using the Kinect to do gesture input on presentations on really big screens. Like Powerpoint on steroids.

LOL! I like the fact (happens all to often on HN) that we 'discuss' about a guy and he shows up and answers himself :-)

What was done, is done. Wish you all the best in your life.

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#102

Post by schrijver »

rebugger wrote: post #88
phaus wrote: post #63

Interesting story, terrible article. Valve has always followed the "when its ready" release model. The article makes it sound like there was a huge conspiracy to keep valve's ineptness a secret, else Gabe would have no alternative than to commit ritual suicide.

Furthermore "...to find his bed surrounded by police officers. Automatic weapons were pointing at his head..." - that doesn't sound like Germany. Guns are only drawn if you are visibly armed.

Pretty amazing accomplishment for the German police: they fired only 85 bullets in 2011 http://www.thewire.com/global/2012/05/german-police-used-onl...

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#103

Post by hellbreakslose »

You can't really blame a kid at that age... Kids at that age have no sense of fear or can't recognize what is punishable or not. Everything is a game, especially years back as that internet was not so evolved and the laws around it weren't so strict.

Its Valve's fault for letting a 16 y/o install malwares on their computers... When you are developing something you got to be serious about its security as well if you want it to remain a secret. It feels to me like their employees and IT department had no actual sense of what security was (Employees going off installing whatever on their computer, and IT team not being able to track down malware and outgoing packets to unknown sources...)

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#104

Post by asadlionpk »

atmosx wrote: post #101
ago wrote: post #50

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I worked programming fire alarm systems for a while, embedded device programming and test automation. Now I started doing realtime graphics in Bejing. Working on using the Kinect to do gesture input on presentations on really big screens. Like Powerpoint on steroids.

LOL! I like the fact (happens all to often on HN) that we 'discuss' about a guy and he shows up and answers himself :-) What was done, is done. Wish you all the best in your life.

haha yeah. I was surprised at that too. Its really a great community we have here at HN.

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#106

Post by lmm »

pekk wrote: post #17
NamTaf wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Why should we not treat people who make mistakes like humans if they show genuine remose and a desire to reform, such as this guy or e.g.: Kevin Mitnick? The justice system is supposed to be (in most countries, at least) to be a method of both punishment and rehibilitation. Why not find ways to assist them in completing the latter? I don't think it's particularly farfetched to expect relatively socially ostracised te…

Why should we not start with black guys instead of making special exceptions for white kids committing "white collar" crimes? Why does the involvement of computers make some criminals better than others?

Because violent crime is, uh, worse than non-violent crime? Because it harms others more directly, and because the second-order effects of living in a society where violent crime happens are much worse than those of living in a society where white-collar crime happens?

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#107

Post by Fuxy »

ago wrote: post #92
zaroth wrote: post #86

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the system did quite well with Gembe all things considered... The judge sentenced him to two years' probation, citing his rough childhood and the way he had worked to turn his life around as considerations when it came to deciding on the relatively lenient punishment. The arrest at gunpoint sounds quite dramatic, but then again they let him stop for coffee and a cigarette on the way out, so this is not the ty…

You're completely right. The police were nice to me, probably because I was very cooperative. The team was about 15 people from the LKA, including the head of the cybercrime unit. I did cause a bit of a scare when I reached for the kitchen knife to cut some bread, but they quickly realized I didnt want to stab anyone. Of course I knew that I was far better off being in Germany than anywhere else, so I wasn't worried…

To be honest if find it kind of a dick move that Valve choose to have you arrested instead of making you work your ass off to make up for your mistake.

It is justified what you did was illegal and not cool but they had the chance to turn it into something positive.

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#108

Post by Fuxy »

codexon wrote: post #6
deftnerd wrote: post #2

It's stories like these that's inspired me to start up a new project at oppressed.me. I'm trying to compile a list of hackers and hacktivists that have been imprisoned in order to let the internet easily send them correspondence. I'm also going to ask publishers for donations of older copies of technical books to send them. A lot of hackers are just kids that make a stupid mistake. During their time in jail, their sk…

I don't feel sorry for malware writers. They are not oppressed and deserve what they got. And this guy also stole people's software keys. If they were talented coders, they could've found less destructive ways to make money. But he decided to go the greedy route.

You're assuming he made money.

Not everybody does it for money actually his motivation was quite clear he liked the games but couldn't afford to buy them legit.

A situation i can relate with given I've been in a similar one.

Nowhere in this article was there a mention of hacking in order to make money.

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#109

Post by EdwardDiego »

oscargrouch wrote: post #75
EdwardDiego wrote: post #48

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Nice black-and-white view of humanity I don't have a black and white view, I just don't buy "I was bored and clever" as a justification for breaking the law.

> I don't have a black and white view, I just don't buy "I was bored and clever" as a justification for breaking the law. What is "the law", for who and by whom they are created for? We need to first realize that there are no such a thing as "The law", and the limits of right and wrong are pretty shady if you think we live in a world that is multicultural and multi-subjective with several different realities and valu…

Okay, I can understand you feel passionately about it, but I'm not commenting on the validity of the American legal system's actions.

I'm merely commenting on how intelligence doesn't lift one above the legal system you reside within.

Re: The boy who stole Half Life 2 source code (2011)

#110

Post by norswap »

codexon wrote: post #6
deftnerd wrote: post #2

It's stories like these that's inspired me to start up a new project at oppressed.me. I'm trying to compile a list of hackers and hacktivists that have been imprisoned in order to let the internet easily send them correspondence. I'm also going to ask publishers for donations of older copies of technical books to send them. A lot of hackers are just kids that make a stupid mistake. During their time in jail, their sk…

I don't feel sorry for malware writers. They are not oppressed and deserve what they got. And this guy also stole people's software keys. If they were talented coders, they could've found less destructive ways to make money. But he decided to go the greedy route.

How sad it must be, to live without compassion.
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