Connecting the dots: Denuvo has spent the past few weeks trying to uncover Voices38's true identity. The mysterious cracker has been wreaking havoc on the company's notorious DRM and anti-tamper technology, and Denuvo is now turning to lawyers in a bid to unmask the skilled coder.
Denuvo's first attempt to uncover Voices38's real identity was unsuccessful because the company tried to obtain too much data at once. Now, a California federal judge has granted the Irdeto-owned DRM maker's revised subpoena requests. Several internet companies will soon have to respond to Denuvo's lawyers, but Voices38 could still remain a John Doe in the end.
Denuvo's latest legal assault began earlier this month, when the company asked a judge to help identify the unnamed cracker operating under the "Voices38" moniker. The request was part of Denuvo's lawsuit against Voices38, which centers on the cracker's alleged violations of the DMCA's anti-circumvention provisions.
Denuvo initially asked the judge to approve 46 separate subpoena requests targeting Discord, Valve, Reddit, and other internet companies. The subpoenas sought potential names and email addresses, along with additional data related to payments and financial transactions, login logs, comment histories, and more.
According to Judge Haywood S. Gilliam Jr., Denuvo's requests went too far. Although the company was seeking to uncover Voices38's identity, the subpoenas extended well beyond the information needed to identify the individual or individuals involved. Given the potentially significant privacy implications, the judge decided to narrow the scope of the requests.
Denuvo was given two options: revise its subpoenas or provide detailed explanations justifying each request. The DRM maker chose the former, reducing the number of requests from 46 to nine. Judge Gilliam has now approved the revised requests, allowing Denuvo to serve subpoenas on Discord, Valve, and Reddit.
Specifically, the company is seeking identifying information associated with the "voices38" Discord account, Reddit user voices38, and seven different Steam profiles. So far, Denuvo has been able to target only an online pseudonym. The subpoenas could help the company obtain further information about Voices38's identity, including names, government-issued identification documents, email addresses, phone numbers, and physical addresses.
Despite being targeted by a company known for pursuing DRM crackers, Voices38 recently indicated that things would be fine regardless. The coder released their latest crack just a couple of days ago. However, over the past few hours, Voices38 has reportedly deleted their official Reddit account, one of the main channels the cracker used to share releases and updates.
Could Voices38 become the next Voksi, the cracker whom Denuvo successfully forced into early retirement several years ago? The developer was instrumental in removing Irdeto's anti-tamper technology from recent games, including Doom: The Dark Ages and Resident Evil Requiem.