Behind the Hacking of Half Life(ZT)

baby999

http://www.anycities.com/megazerox/articles/article10072003.htm
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Written by MegaZeroX
Posted on Tuesday, October 7th, 2003.



Behind the Hacking of Half Life




Meet the myg0t cult/clan. These individuals are indirectly linked to the recent hacking of Valve's computers -- a hack job that led to the propagation of Half Life 2 source code all over the internet. The worst has yet to come, and these people are betting their reputations on it. Their sole mission is to bring as much chaos to the internet as is conceivable, so long as none of them get caught.

I dived head first into this circle of hackers on Sunday night, and quickly came to the conclusion that one of them had been responsible for the hacking. I cannot tell you who did it, because I do not know for sure, although the answer to that question is becoming more transparent by the day.

Before I go on, I should say forthright that I do not entirely buy Gabe Newell's explanation as to how this thing happened. I DO believe the central premise of his account -- that they were hacked -- but I think Newell was attempting to avoid "but how did..." questions by filling in the answers that he didn't really know. In other words, he's telling the truth, but saying more than he really knows to avoid skepticism from conspiracy theorists. For instance, I don't buy the keytapping. I doubt any hacker is that good.

Read What Happened »

It all started when I was given the location to a popular half-life channel on the one and only QuakeNet. I made my intentions clear upon entering the room; that I was there to find the hackers and kick their asses. Fortunately, this room was more open than some others, and I happened to stumble across a source who was willing to disclose the server and channel of the myg0t clan.

I told the gentlemen in the Half Life channel that I felt the world was a small place, and that it was very possible that we already knew the perpetrator. I was laughed at, at first. My small world conviction was proven correct when I ran into a (1) Dorksnet acquaintance, (2) an NN gentleman, and (3) an ally on the myg0t server.

I have included a transcript of a conversation that happened on the myg0t server. At the request of a source, I have removed all references to the network on which this conversation happened (I'm always good to my word). As you can see, these people are mad.

Read the transcript »

I have come to the following conclusions about the myg0t cult/clan.

These are the stupidest people alive. A great number of them are attention craving teenagers who intentionally misspell every word they type for the sole purpose of putting on a hacker persona. They talk like hackers, act like hackers, and think like hackers. This includes all of the immaturity you could possibly imagine, constant reference to sex (I can tell these guys have never had girlfriends), and a mental dependency on using the F word at least once every three sentences. After all, they don't know how to speak proper English, so the only way to show they feel strongly on a particular issue is to curse about it.

An affiliate or ex-member of myg0t is directly responsible for the hacking. The reason I know this is because all of the "leaks" can be traced back to the clan. I'm not saying that everyone in the clan was involved. What I AM saying is that everyone who distributed the source code in the beginning, including someone who goes by the alias of "hammer8," has direct connections to myg0t, so myg0t can have -- at farthest -- a second-hand connection to the hacking.

If the hacker's identity hasn't been blown already, then there are at least two people at myg0t who have a fairly good idea who they are. "SourceX" and "gtwy" are the default ringleaders of myg0t, even if both of them deny it. SourceX told me that hammer was responsible for the distributing of the code, but not the hacking itself. I believe him on that account. He also told me he didn't know who did it. I don't believe him on that account, because he was the recipient of the code. You see, SourceX and gtwy were in the positions needed to receive the leak. I'm not saying that SourceX chose to receive the code (although I do believe that he did), I am merely asserting that he, as clan leader, was in the position to put a hold on anything he thought was out of bounds.

After the leak, SourceX proceeded to post a link on the myg0t forums at resistanceforums.net, providing a location where the source could be downloaded. By Sunday night, there were several members of myg0t who had screenshots for what they had been able to do with the code. They are clearly making progress.

I also happen to believe that SourceX has the full beta version of Half Life 2, but is not releasing it because he knows we're all watching him. I have two sources, one inside of myg0t and one outside, who insist this is the true picture of what is going on. The former source believes that SourceX will eventually allow the beta version to be leaked, when enough time passes that they can be sure the FBI is not onto them. After reading the myg0t forums, I happen to share this view. I don't like it one bit, but SourceX didn't restrain himself because he wanted to obey the law -- he did so because he didn't want to get arrested. It was more out of control of the clan rather than discipline of the clan that he chose not to immediately leak everything he had.

These people all fit the stereotype of a person who puts on a tough front but has no inner courage. After realizing I had logged over four hours of conversation on their server -- as they were discussing what they could potentially do with the source code -- one of the myg0t admins tried to bully me and get me to leave. The reason they didn't simply ban me from the server is because he wanted to know how much I knew. If he had simply asked that question, I would have told him the truth: "lots, and I'm going to hand it straight over to anyone who asks."

Hammer8 may be the initial scapegoat, because he is the only person whose cover has been completely blown with such totality. In other AIM conversations, other participants in this hacking revealed everything, and their identities are exposed as well -- but by screenshots of AIM conversations which may or may not be admissible in court. Hopefully, they will all come forward and name more names. Clearly, these are not the tough hackers they wanted us to think they were; they are, in fact, wusses.

What we have here is a ridiculous case of hackers who want to release HL2 data, who are afraid to because they know they are under 24/7 watch by individuals like myself. Myg0t is in deep legal trouble. Intentional distribution of stolen materials is a violation of federal law. They may disregard the law on their own board, but being an admin of some clan will not exempt them from legal fines, jail time, and court orders preventing them from using the internet. If SourceX or gtwy leak anything more, we'll be onto them faster than you can say "hackers suck."


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