June 20, 2013

Dutch gamer accused of hacking, disabling NH game

BY: AP Staff Writer NOVEMBER 15, 2012 | MODIFIED: NOVEMBER 15, 2012 AT 3:02 PM
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CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A federal grand jury in New Hampshire has indicted a gamer on charges that he conspired to hack into and disable computer servers belonging to a company that hosts an online role-playing game called "Outwar."

The indictment was returned Wednesday against 24-year-old Anil Kheda of the Netherlands.

It alleges from November 2007 to August 2008, Kheda and other "Outwar" players accessed computer servers of game host Rampid Interactive in Dover. The action rendered "Outwar" unplayable for days at a time.

The indictment said Kheda and alleged co-conspirators used their unauthorized access to Rampid's servers to alter user accounts. That caused the restoration of suspended player accounts and the accrual of unearned game points.

Kheda and others also got a copy of the "Outwar" computer source code, which they used to help create a competitor online game, called "Outcraft," the indictment says.

The indictment also alleges that Kheda and alleged co-conspirators sent Rampid interstate communications threatening to hack into Rampid's computer systems, unless Rampid agreed to pay them money or provide them with other benefits.

Rampid said it was unable to operate "Outwar" for about two weeks over a nine-month period It said it incurred over $100,000 in lost revenue, wages, hosting costs, and exclusive use of its proprietary source code, which it had invested about $1.5 million in creating.

Court documents said Kheda made about $10,000 in profits from operating "Outcraft," which has about 10,000 players worldwide.

It wasn't immediately known if Kheda had a lawyer.

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