Nintendo hacker who leaked the Switch ahead of launch pleads guilty, hit with $260K fine...

[midian182]

What just happened? There are numerous leakers in the tech industry who reveal products ahead of time, but they do this through legal means, such as company sources. Continually hacking a firm to steal pre-release info will get you into trouble, as one California man who revealed the Nintendo Switch before its launch has found out.

The Department of Justice writes that in 2016, 21-year-old Ryan Hernandez and an associate phished a Nintendo employee, grabbing their company credentials to steal files from the gaming giant. The stolen information, including pre-release information on the Nintendo Switch, was leaked online.

In October 2017, an FBI investigation identified Hernandez, and agents tracked him down to his parents’ California residence. He promised to stop hacking and “confirmed that he understood the consequences if any future hacking.”

But it seems Hernandez went back on his word. From at least June 2018 to June 2019, he hacked into various Nintendo servers to steal more files related to the company’s games and consoles. The DoJ writes that he boasted about his exploits using online platforms, including Twitter and Discord. He also had his own chat forum called “Ryan’s Underground Hangout,” where he chatted with others about the confidential information he had stolen and shared vulnerabilities in Nintendo’s network.

When the FBI raided Hernandez’s home in June 2019, they discovered thousands of confidential Nintendo files. They also found a folder called “Bad Stuff” on a drive, which contained over one thousand videos and images of child pornography.

Hernandez has agreed to pay $259,323 in restitution to Nintendo and will be required to register as a sex offender following his conviction. Under the terms of his plea agreement, prosecutors and defense attorneys recommend three years in prison, but that will be up to a judge to decide. The DoJ points out that the maximum sentence for computer fraud is five years, and twenty years for possession of child pornography.

Hernandez will be sentenced in April 2020.

In other Switch news, Nintendo has confirmed there won't be a Pro version of the console released this year.

Permalink to story.

https://www.techspot.com/news/83830-nintendo-hacker-who-leaked-switch-ahead-launch-pleads.html

 

[Puiu]

Degenerates with too much free time on their hands.

 

[yRaz]

Quit the effing click bait titles. I want to say, "you're better than this," but are you? He's in jail for child porn, not the switch garbage.

I was going to say, "is this a Shawn article?" But it's a repeated time I've seen this crap come out of Rob

 

[Unusual Kmc]

Lmao the FBI confronted him in front of his parents and he still didn't give up

I mean, how dumb do you have to be to not realise that if they tracked you once they can do it again

 

[SirDigby]

Quit the effing click bait titles. I want to say, "you're better than this," but are you? He's in jail for child porn, not the switch garbage.

I was going to say, "is this a Shawn article?" But it's a repeated time I've seen this crab come out of Rob

Hernandez has agreed to pay $259,323 in restitution to Nintendo and will be required to register as a sex offender following his conviction. Under the terms of his plea agreement, prosecutors and defense attorneys recommend three years in prison, but that will be up to a judge to decide. The DoJ points out that the maximum sentence for computer fraud is five years, and twenty years for possession of child pornography.

Likely to get 3 years for computer fraud, pending judge's sentencing. The title is factually correct.

 

[yRaz]

Likely to get 3 years for computer fraud, pending judge's sentencing. The title is factually correct.

Oh, just the three years? Or are we going to ignore the part where you quoted the 20 years he'll get for child porn?

 

[SirDigby]

Oh, just the three years? Or are we going to ignore the part where you quoted the 20 years he'll get for child porn?

You said the title was clickbait because the jail time was for child porn, but as you can see he is getting jail time for hacking Nintendo separately, so the title is factually correct and not clickbait.

 

[yRaz]

You said the title was clickbait because the jail time was for child porn, but as you can see he is getting jail time for hacking Nintendo separately, so the title is factually correct and not clickbait.

So we are ignoring that he's a pedophile and that the Nintendo charges are just tacked on there extra by the prosecutor because he's a criminal?

 

[SirDigby]

I'm not ignoring anything, I'm disagreeing with you calling the article title clickbait.
The guy is a scumbag and if there is a hell he is definitely going there, but as a tech website, its not really the focus for TS to report on child pornography cases, but hacking charges from Nintendo and a fine is newsworthy in the tech world.

 

[Lionvibez]

Got a warning the first time very lucky.

Did it again throw the book at this fool.

Oh, just the three years? Or are we going to ignore the part where you quoted the 20 years he'll get for child porn?

It says the maximum is 20 years it never said he was sentenced to 20 years big difference.

So we are ignoring that he's a pedophile and that the Nintendo charges are just tacked on there extra by the prosecutor because he's a criminal?

Also wrong.

The primary reason they raided his house was for the nintendo hacking. The child porn they found on site and it s a secondary charge. The way you describe it is reverse of how it actually happened.

Nice selective reading there.

 

[PEnnn]

"... it seems Hernandez went back on his word. From at least June 2018 to June 2019, he hacked into various Nintendo servers to steal more files related to the company’s games and consoles"

So, after being hacked big time, Nintendo just sat there and got hacked again?? Don't they have anybody whose job is to protect that hapless company?? Amazing!!

 

[Lionvibez]

"... it seems Hernandez went back on his word. From at least June 2018 to June 2019, he hacked into various Nintendo servers to steal more files related to the company’s games and consoles"

So, after being hacked big time, Nintendo just sat there and got hacked again?? Don't they have anybody whose job is to protect that hapless company?? Amazing!!

lol either lazy or the kids has found multiple exploits and is just going through his list, he has been at it for a years now after all.