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Valve Tricked Half Life 2 Hacker Into Fake Job Interview

blog.wired.com — After the secret source code for its then-unreleased shooter Half Life 2 showed up on BitTorrent in 2003, game maker Valve Software cooked up an elaborate ruse with the FBI targeting the German hacker suspected in the leak, even setting up a fake job interview in an effort to lure him to the U.S. for arrest.

Who dugg this? Made popular Nov 13, 2008

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  • SLiPSTR34M, on 11/12/2008, -5/+253so actually they DIDN'T trick him..
    if you read the article.
    Nice try though.
  • wisedude, on 11/13/2008, -4/+184this was some cool news 5 years ago.... when it happened....
  • clearcasting, on 11/13/2008, -15/+135
    . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . _________
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  • benologist, on 11/13/2008, -8/+107Why would they hire him for finding an unpassworded account on their network and then spying on their company for 6 months?

    None of that is admirable or impressive.
  • theotherdude, on 11/13/2008, -1/+70By Kevin Poulsen November 12, 2008 | 4:08:38 PM

    Thank you, Kevin Poulsen, for this breaking news coverage. Can we get your forecast on the outcome of the 2004 presidential elections as well?
  • machocheese34, on 11/13/2008, -0/+66there seems to be a glitch in the matrix
  • nottanner, on 11/12/2008, -38/+95If valve were smart they really would have hired the guy.

  • lebondarken, on 11/13/2008, -1/+55MrBabyMan tried to trick us... Bad MrBabyMan BAD BAD.
  • willsani, on 11/13/2008, -8/+56So Valve + FBI = Fail?
  • pathy, on 11/13/2008, -2/+46Did you guys see the new TF2 stuff? It looks so realistic!
  • Bic823, on 11/13/2008, -2/+39voted to ban "myg0t", 19 votes required.
  • Juaquin, on 11/13/2008, -2/+35Why? Does Valve need to develop security software? It's not like he hacked the game, he hacked a network. Maybe Symantec or Norton or Cisco should hire him, but not Valve.
  • se7envii, on 11/12/2008, -4/+36mygot = evil bastards
  • Evi1d33d, on 11/13/2008, -8/+36You got ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉th̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉
  • NomortaL1, on 11/13/2008, -8/+35buried inaccurate. hes not a hacker and he didnt take the interview so he wasnt tricked.
  • centerblack, on 11/13/2008, -3/+29They obviously felt that they lost something by having the source stolen. $, trade secrets, whatever.

    If paying him to attack their networks (as an employee) to find security holes costs less than having things stolen, maybe it's not such a bad idea to hire him.

    Anyway I'm glad he stayed in Germany. Trying to lure this guy here to arrest him is just silly....
  • bencanfield, on 11/13/2008, -1/+21"BitTorrent in 2003"

    Could this more obviously be old?
  • DubiousDrewski, on 11/13/2008, -0/+18Way back then, TF2 still had that photo realistic art style.
  • sat0shi, on 11/13/2008, -0/+15His name was Kevin Poulsen.
  • bbhh, on 11/13/2008, -0/+15they did trick him into a fake over-the-phone job interview but they didn't manage to trick him into the follow up interview in the states
  • xombi242, on 11/13/2008, -0/+13"Valve Tricked Half Life 2 Hacker Into Fake Job Interview" was the original headline. The author has since changed it.
  • rukeypoo, on 11/13/2008, -0/+12Whoa guys! Did you hear about the new movie Flubber? It looks pretty cool!
  • AzureRise, on 11/13/2008, -3/+14Um...this is incredibly old. I mean seriously. I hate it when people complain something is old, but this really is old.
  • bobsbones, on 11/13/2008, -2/+13Wow, how about that. So when is this Half Life 2 game going to be released? Oh, wait. This is ancient.
  • kidwithsword, on 11/13/2008, -11/+21Yes, I agree. I don't think they gave him the credit he deserved.
  • slick519, on 11/13/2008, -2/+12he should have grabbed his plane ticket and crowbar, stuffed them in his carry on, and flown to seattle. never piss off a geek.
  • dreamofrevenge, on 11/13/2008, -0/+9THE VALVE IS A SPY
  • mitch37, on 11/13/2008, -1/+10pwned.nl
  • sirbeta, on 11/13/2008, -0/+9You'd be surprised how many people that hacked so-and-so gets jobs at the very same company as security advisers.
  • inactive, on 11/13/2008, -2/+11To replace their guy in charge of security because their guy was definitely retarded.
  • lebondarken, on 11/13/2008, -0/+9Correct.
  • yohnstoppable, on 11/13/2008, -0/+8^^

    I'm so glad they went with the current graphic style. It's going to stand the test of time way better, and just adds to the fun. Spies using paper masks ftw
  • opticwind, on 11/13/2008, -0/+8First time anyone has used that pic well.
  • LeviTheSmith, on 11/13/2008, -1/+8So then҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉th̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉th̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉ ̵̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̿̿̿̚ ҉ ҉҉̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑ ̒̓̔̕̚ ̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̕̚̕̚ ̡̢̛̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̚ ̡̢̡̢̛̛̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔ ̕̚̕̚ ̔̕̚̕̚҉ ҉̵̞̟̠̖̗̘̙̜̝̞̟̠͇̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̊̋̌̍̎̏̐̑̒̓̔̿̿̿̕̚̕̚͡ ͡҉҉AHH *****
  • Blacksoth, on 11/13/2008, -1/+7Sounds like they also seek to include him in any unsolved hacking incidents.
  • raynar, on 11/13/2008, -0/+6In death, we are all Kevin Poulsen.
  • counterplex, on 11/13/2008, -0/+62004. That was a tough year. Americans displayed greater than average stupidity. George W. Bush was re-elected. Yeah I know. I am getting images of redemption hovering over 2008 though. Come back when you need those results :)
  • Lawlmuffin, on 11/13/2008, -0/+6I'm making a note here.. HUGE SUC ... wait..
  • gospe1337, on 11/13/2008, -0/+6An account with n o password. WTF?
  • ZombieKiss, on 11/13/2008, -0/+6And then the game was released and it was awesome. I never understood the nerd rage that ensues from delayed games -- yea I get a little irritated too, but ***** happens, deadlines get pushed, whatever. Who cares how long it takes, they're a relatively small developer compared to most other companies and usually have small teams working on each title. They do that for quality control and consistency, and it shows -- they're very busy and to date have pushed out some of the best and most innovative titles available (HL/HL2 were fantastic and redefined the FPS, but really Portal, Team Fortress 2, and Left 4 Dead are the most innovative). I'm actually surprised they communicate with their fan base so frequently considering all they want to do is bitch and moan when they can't get what they want when they want it.
  • inactive, on 11/13/2008, -0/+5Jesus those guys ruined more Counterstrike games than I can remember when I used to play...
  • Azriel7, on 11/13/2008, -4/+9As one of those who suffered through the HL2 wait, you have to admit that valve deserved it. They were telling people the game would be released THAT YEAR, even up to the last two months it was supposed to be released. Then the time came and went and valve said NOTHING. They ignored their fans, interviews..everything, the hacker released what was downloading to prove that HL2 was NOWHERE near finished. Valve BLAMED the hacker for the delay, which they retracted AFTER the game was released and pretty much admitted the hacker had nothing to do with the delay. The post interview with some of the workers mentioned that Gabe was living in a fantasy land expecting the game to be released that year, and it wasn't until the last couple of months that it hit him that it wasn't happening. They were also in trouble with one of the video card makers because they had a big deal where people who buy their card would get a free copy of HL2, well the video card makers were NOT pleased with Valve, Not pleased at all. Now we have this problem with episodic content that was promised to take less time/money than full games. YET they are taking the same amount of time and money as a full fledged game. The only real shining stars from valve is steam and portal, hopefully they are learning from their mistakes and improve themselves.
  • sinembarg0, on 11/13/2008, -0/+5http://digg.com/microsoft/Bill_gates_mugshot_6
    older than 2002.
  • theHM, on 11/13/2008, -1/+6I think the ink in my monitor is running. Maybe it needs some blotting paper?
  • drgmdp, on 11/13/2008, -0/+5wtf was that
  • bitbytebit, on 11/13/2008, -3/+7buried because

    a) mrbabyman sensationalized the title
    b) mrbabyman submitted it
  • canhelie, on 11/13/2008, -0/+4buried for being 4 years old
  • cyberdash, on 11/13/2008, -1/+5News begins with new, which is certainly not what this is.
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