This Nerdy Teen is the FBI’s Most Wanted Hacker

Summary

ビデオ脚本は、世界各地のハッキング事件に直面するディラン・ウィーラーという少年ハッカーの物語を展開します。12歳からハッキングを始めて、Epic Games、Valve、Microsoft、さらには米軍にまで手を伸ばし、1億ドルを盗んだディランは、他の少年たちが逮捕された後、ポーランドに逃亡しました。彼はそこで銀行強盗計画を企図し、成功するも隠されたカメラに捉えられ、ついに逮捕されました。ビデオは、彼がXboxのセキュリティを破るためにハッキングし始めた物語から、企業間スパイ活動、1800万ドルのFIFAフットボール詐欺に至るまでの彼の道のりを追跡します。

Takeaways

• 😀 デイラン・ウィーラーは12歳からハッキングを始めて、Epic Games、Valve、Microsoft、米軍などから1億ドルを盗んだ後、ポーランドに逃亡しましたが、資金が尽きていました。
• 😲 ポーランドの銀行を強盗する計画を立て、セキュリティカメラが甘いとの情報に基づいて夜分遅くに銀行に忍び込み、盗んだ金品を袋に詰めて去りました。
• 🤖 しかし、彼らは銀行の壁に隠されたカメラがすべてを見ていたことを気づかずにいました。その結果、デイランはついに逮捕されました。
• 🎮 最初はXboxで海賊版ゲームを無料でプレイするためにハッキングを始めた一団のティーンエイジャーが、企業間スパイ活動に至るまでの道をたどりました。
• 🔒 Xbox 360のセキュリティはオリジナルXboxのハッキングから学び、非常に強化されており、改ざんやモッドができない「ハック不能」と称されました。
• 🛠️ 開発キット（dev kit）はゲーム開発のための特別なコンソールで、非常にrareであり、Microsoftはそれらを開発者に貸与しています。
• 🧩 ロウディはE-ウエストリサイクル業者で、Xbox 360開発キットを見つけ、ゲームハッカーに渡しました。これにより、ハッカーは署名されていないコードを実行できるようになりました。
• 💡 ロウディが見つけた開発キットを購入したデビッド・ポコラは、ゲーム「Halo 3」を改ざんし、それをHaloMods.comで共有し、コミュニティに衝撃を与えました。
• 💸 アンソニー・クラークとデビッドは、Halo 3の改ざんを完成させるために協力し、パートナーネット（PartnerNet）にアクセスし、リリース前のゲームに触れることができました。
• 🔓 2009年に2人のハッカーがXbox 360のセキュリティを破ったと発表し、一般のXbox 360でも開発キットの機能を実行できるJTAGエクスプロイトが公開されました。
• 🚨 彼らは自らの改ざんを販売し、1時間に100ドルの料金で大勢の人々から利益を得る一方で、ゲームスタジオからの警告を受けていました。

Q & A

ディラン・ホイールラーはどの年齢からハッキングを始めたと言われていますか？

ディラン・ホイールラーは12歳からハッキングを始めたと言われています。

ディランはどの国に逃げてしまったとされていますか？

ディランはポーランドに逃げてしまったとされています。

Xbox 360のセキュリティが強化された理由は何ですか？

オリジナルのXboxのセキュリティがハッカーによって破られていたため、Xbox 360ではセキュリティが強化され、改ざんやpirated gamesを防ぐために何百万ドルも投資されました。

David Pokoraはなぜ開発キットを欲しがったのですか？

通常のXbox 360ではMicrosoftから承認されたコードのみ実行でき、開発キットがあることで任意のコードを実行できるため、Davidはゲームを改造するために開発キットを欲しがったのです。

アンソニー・クラークとデイビッドはどのような取引をしましたか？

アンソニーはデイビッドのHalo 3のモッドを磨き、開発キットの販売者の情報と引き換えに提供するという取引をしました。

パートナーネットとは何ですか？

パートナーネットはゲーム開発者がXbox Liveで未発表のゲームをテストするためのプラットフォームで、ライセンスを持つ開発者のみがアクセスできます。

デイビッドとアンソニーはなぜFIFAコインの自動生成ツールを開発しましたか？

FIFAビデオゲームではコインを購入することはできず、ゲームをプレイしてコインを獲得する必要があるため、アンソニーは自動的にゲームをプレイしてコインを獲得し、それらを売却するボットを開発しました。

マイクロソフトはどのようにしてDurangoの情報を漏洩させたと思われるか？

Durangoの情報を漏洩させたと思われる主な原因は、パスワードの再利用と内部のセキュリティの脆弱性でした。

ディラン・ホイールラーはなぜオーストラリアの警察に逮捕されたのですか？

ディランはゲーム開発者や米軍に不正にアクセスし、重要な機密情報を盗んだため、オーストラリアの警察に逮捕されました。

デイビッド・ポコラはどのような刑期を受けましたか？

デイビッド・ポコラは米国貿易機密の盗難で100万ドル以上の損失をもたらし、米国で刑事起訴され、刑期を受けました。

Outlines

00:00

😎 少年ハッカーの冒険

ディラン・ウィーラーは12歳からハッキングを始めて、Epic Games、Valve、Microsoft、さらには米軍までを窃盗し、1億ドルを盗んだ。他の少年たちは逮捕されたが、ディランはポーランドに逃げた。そこでは銀行からの強盗計画を立てたが、隠しカメラに捕まった。Xboxのセキュリティ強化とハッカーコミュニティの反乱、そしてディランがハッキングから犯罪に転落するまでの過程が描かれる。

05:01

💡 Xbox 360のセキュリティ突破

Xbox 360のセキュリティが強化された背景と、ハッカーがそれを破るまでには多くの努力が要した。開発キットが見つかり、それがハッキングコミュニティに与えた影響について説明する。また、ディレクターキットを手に入れたデビッド・ポコラがゲーム「ハロ3」を改造し、そのモッドを販売し始めた。彼らのモッドはゲーム業界に多大な影響を与え、ハッカーコミュニティがどのようにしてゲーム業界に挑戦したかが語られる。

10:03

🔒 セキュリティの脆弱性

パスワードの再利用がデータ漏洩の大きな原因であると警告し、Epic Gamesのハッキングとその影響について説明する。ディランがリークしたデータを使って、Epic Gamesに不正アクセスし、ゲーム「ギアーズ・オブ・ウォー3」を手に入れたが、それがプレイ不能だった。その後、ゲームがオンラインでリークされ、Epic GamesがFBIに調査を依頼した。ディランはFBIの捜査を監視し続けたが、彼の行動は危険な方向に向かっていた。

15:03

🚀 ゲーム業界のハッキングビジネス

アンソニー・クラークがFIFAコインの自動獲得ツールを開発し、そのビジネスを拡大した。彼は多くの開発キットを購入し、家での電気代が高くなった。FIFAのセキュリティが強化されたが、アンソニーはCAPTCHAを自動化するボットを開発し、ビジネスを続けた。しかし、彼はそのビジネスが合法であるかどうか疑問に思った。FBIは彼らのネットワークに潜入し、ギアーズ・オブ・ウォー3のリークの犯人を探し始めた。

20:05

🌐 グローバルなハッキング事件

ディラン・ウィーラーはオーストラリアの警察に逮捕され、彼はハッキンググループのリーダーであり、MicrosoftのDurango文書を漏洩させた。彼はオーストラリアを出国し、チェコ共和国に逃れた。チェコ共和国では、彼は銀行のセキュリティ会社に就職し、改心したと主張した。しかし、彼は銀行から大量の資金を盗むための偽造を企図し、チェコ警察に逮捕された。一方、アンソニー・クラークはFIFAコインのビジネスで富を築いたが、不正な資金移動の疑いで米IRSに調査され、資産が没収された。

25:06

🔚 ハッカー達の最終章

ディランはポーランドで銀行強盗を企てて逮捕され、10年の刑期を宣告された。一方、アンソニーは友人との誕生祝いの夜を過ごした後、誤って薬物とアルコールを混ぜて服用し、死亡した。デビッド、サナド、オースティン・アラカはプログラマーや暗号技術者としてキャリアを築き、家族を持つ者もいた。彼らはこの物語についてコメントを拒否した。

Keywords

💡ハッキング

ハッキングとは、コンピューターシステムやネットワークへの未承認アクセスやそのセキュリティーを侵害する行為を指します。このビデオでは、主人公がゲーム会社や米軍の機密情報を盗むなど、ハッキングを通じて多数の犯罪行為に及んでいます。特に、Xbox 360のセキュリティーを破るという挑戦や、ゲームの開発キットを入手することで、ゲームの改造や不正なゲームプレイが可能になるなど、ハッキングがビデオの主題と深く関わっています。

💡Xbox 360

Xbox 360は、マイクロソフトが開発したホームビデオゲーム機です。ビデオでは、ハッカーがこのゲーム機のセキュリティーを破ることを目指し、ゲームの改造や不正行為を行っています。また、Xbox 360開発キットの入手が、ビデオのプロット展開において重要な役割を果たしています。

💡開発キット

開発キットとは、ゲームやソフトウェアの開発に使用される特別なコンソールやツールです。ビデオでは、Xbox 360の開発キットを入手することで、ハッカーはゲームの改造や未公開のゲームのプレイが可能になるなど、重要なプロットポイントとなっています。

💡セキュリティーカメラ

セキュリティーカメラとは、監視や防止のためのビデオカメラです。ビデオでは、主人公が銀行を強盗する計画において、セキュリティーカメラが見逃されたことが、彼らの犯罪行為を露呈する重要な要素となっています。

💡Epic Games

Epic Gamesは、ビデオゲームの開発と販売を行っている企業で、「フォートナイト」などの人気タイトルを展開しています。ビデオでは、ハッカーがEpic Gamesのネットワークに侵入し、機密情報を盗む事件が描かれており、企業のセキュリティーに対する脅威を象徴しています。

💡FBI

FBIとはアメリカ合衆国の連邦捜査局を指し、国内の犯罪捜査と国家安全保障を担当する政府機関です。ビデオでは、FBIがハッカーによる犯罪行為を調査し、彼らを追跡する脈絡が展開されており、法執行機関の役割が強調されています。

💡不正行為

不正行為とは、ルールや法律に違反する行動を指します。ビデオでは、主人公がゲームの改造、機密情報の流出、銀行強盗など、多岐にわたる不正行為に関与しています。これらは、ビデオの主題であるハッカー文化と犯罪の境界を探求する重要な要素です。

💡プロトタイプ

プロトタイプとは、製品やシステムの初期の試作モデルを指します。ビデオでは、Xbox Oneのプロトタイプ「Durango」の情報が漏洩し、ハッカーがその情報をもとに偽物を作成する事件が描かれています。これは、企業の機密保持と知的財産権に対する挑戦を象徴しています。

💡ゲームモッド

ゲームモッドとは、既存のゲームソフトウェアを改造し、新しいゲームプレイや機能を追加する行為を指します。ビデオでは、ハッカーがゲームモッドを作成し、それを販売することで利益を得る一方で、ゲーム会社の利益を侵害する問題が提起されています。

💡オンラインゲーム

オンラインゲームとは、インターネットを通じて他のプレイヤーと対戦や協力を行うゲームです。ビデオでは、ハッカーがオンラインゲームのセキュリティーに干渉し、不正なゲームプレイを可能にするツールを開発するなど、オンラインゲームのセキュリティー問題が取り上げられています。

Highlights

Dylan Wheeler从12岁开始黑客行为，成为通缉犯并与一群青少年在逃。

Dylan Wheeler涉嫌从Epic Games、Valve、Microsoft甚至美国军方窃取了1亿美元。

Dylan Wheeler逃至波兰，因听说当地银行安全摄像头松懈而策划抢劫。

Dylan Wheeler和其他青少年黑客因Xbox游戏机的安全漏洞而开始他们的黑客生涯。

Xbox 360因强化了安全措施而被誉为无法被黑客攻破。

Rowdy在一个电子废品回收站发现了极为罕见的Xbox 360开发工具包。

David Pokora使用开发工具包运行未签名代码，开始修改《光环3》游戏。

David和Anthony Clarke通过在HaloMods.com上分享《光环3》的修改版而声名鹊起。

David和Anthony发现开发工具包中的PartnerNet，可以提前玩到未发布的游戏。

2009年，两名黑客公开展示了Xbox 360安全系统的破解方法。

David和Anthony通过出售他们的《光环3》修改版，每天赚取高达8000美元。

Justin May试图在PAX展会上直接向Xbox Live的主管请求解封他的游戏账号。

Justin May在PAX展会上试图偷走Atomic Games展位上的Xbox 360开发工具包。

Dylan Wheeler与David Pokora合作，利用泄露的登录凭证进入Epic Games的网络。

David Pokora和团队通过黑客手段下载了Epic Games的未发布游戏《战争机器3》。

《战争机器3》的泄露成为全国新闻，Epic Games警告下载游戏可能会损坏系统。

Anthony Clarke开发了一个自动玩FIFA游戏赚取游戏币的机器人，并将其出售给中国网站。

David Pokora和团队利用Epic Games的员工密码列表，侵入了多家大型游戏开发商的网络。

Dylan Wheeler因不满论坛上人们对他关于Xbox One的预测的怀疑，泄露了所有从微软窃取的文件。

Dylan Wheeler在eBay上出售了Xbox One原型机Durango，这是微软多年来最大的泄露事件之一。

Dylan Wheeler因黑客行为面临22项重罪指控，但在保释期间逃离澳大利亚前往捷克共和国。

Anthony Clarke的FIFA币业务在八个月内赚取了超过700万美元，但他最终因洗钱被判有罪。

David Pokora和他的团队成员因窃取超过1亿美元的商业机密而被逮捕并起诉。

Dylan Wheeler在捷克共和国因制造假币被捕，之后逃往英格兰并成立了自己的网络安全公司。

Dylan Wheeler最终在波兰因抢劫银行而被判处10年监禁。

Anthony Clarke在庆祝生日后因意外药物过量去世。

David Pokora、Sanad、和Austin Acala在服刑后现在拥有成功的编程和密码学职业生涯。

Transcripts

Facing a litany of hacking

charges across the world.

Dylan Wheeler, a kid

who'd been hacking

since the age of 12,

was a fugitive on the run

with a group of teenagers.

He had stolen a $100 million

from Epic Games Valve, Microsoft,

hell, even the U.S. military.

And while the other teens

were now locked

up, Dylan had escaped to Poland,

but now he was broke.

But from a group of guys he had just met,

he had heard the security cameras

at the local Polish

bank were pretty lax

enough to plan a robbery.

At 3 a.m.

they lined up at the bank

with no one in sight

And As they got inside and Dylan

shut down the security system,

they loaded up their bags with loot

and walked out like it never happened.

But as they got home...To count their stash

and dream of what they could buy,

they had failed to realize

there was a hidden camera in the wall

that had seen it all.

And Dylan Wheeler,

the infamous kid hacker on the run,

was finally caught.

What started out as a gang of teenagers

hacking their Xboxes

to play pirated games

for free would spiral down

the path of corporate espionage,

breaking into the US military in $18

million FIFA Football fraud

that went unnoticed for years.

And it all starts here with the Xbox.

Now, people freaked out when

the Xbox 360 was released,

not because of better games or graphics,

but because this thing had way better security.

Why?

Well, because hackers broke

the security on the original Xbox,

which sprouted

a huge community of hackers

who modded and exploited

and pirated all things Xbox.....and Microsoft

was pretty pissed.

So when the Xbox 360 was released,

they spent millions of dollars to ensure

no one was going to pirate or mod

any game

and actually hailed it as unhackable.

And for over 40 years, the Xbox

hacking world

just could not break the system, meaning

no one could make mods for it

until someone found the missing link

At an E-Waste recycler.

Rowdy was searching for Xbox

DVD drives, you know, as a hobby

he’d like the repair them

kind of like a freak.

But after an hour of scrounging

through the piles

of plastic scraps on the floor,

his eyes lit up.

He had found an Xbox so rare

it actually had no business

even being there.

The Xbox 360 development kit.

Now, this is a huge deal

because a dev kit is a special

console used to make video games.

Microsoft leases them out to developers.

So if you're an Xbox hacker,

that's what you want.

But let me just say,

these dev kits are super rare.

I mean, you have to provide

industry references, resumes, heck

even sign an NDA.

And to top it all off, reselling

a dev kit is not allowed.

But these are so rare. (Mocking Tone)

How did these get here, Vince? (Mocking Tone)

Well, the red ring of death ♪Microsoft

♪ The red ring of doom ♪

The ring of death, one of

the biggest recalls in Xbox history.

And while these Dev Kits were

all going to be crushed off, Rowdy

gave these dev kits

a new home..... in the hands

of some of the most experienced

hackers in the Xbox Scene....

As a child

prodigy, David Pokora had been programing

since he was in diapers

when his parents got him

an original Xbox for Christmas

instead of just playing with it

like a normal kid.

David made mods for it,

but now, years later

with this unhackable Xbox 360.

All he wanted was a dev

because a regular xbox 360

you just buy at Walmart only runs

SIGNED code

which is approved from Microsoft,

but a Dev Kit...Ohhh

that runs unsigned code,

which could be anything David wanted.

So when Rowdy hit him up with the dev kit

for sale,

David took all of the savings

from his grandma's

birthday checks

and he got modding his favorite game,

Halo 3.

Now, through the months

as the Halo 3 Mod got better,

he shared his unpolished Halo

mods on..........HaloMods.com

and people were blown away

because this meant David

had gotten a development kit

which was impossible to get.

And of course they asked him

where did he get it from?

How was he doing this?

But David was not

going to tell him, quote,

You cannot do it.

You won't know how.

No one will tell you how.

And even with the dev kit,

you won't be able to mod.

You want a dev kit?

Good luck finding one.

But Anthony

Clarke, an 18 year old

gifted programmer,

knew David was kind of S*************

I mean, the kid

obviously knew where to get a Dev Kit...

so he hit him up with the little deal.

Anthony would help

polish his Halo 3 mod

in exchange for the number of the guy

who sold them that dev kit.

So what's the deal?

The two agree

they get working on the mod and slowly

they become friends

talking about girls.......and school

and programing in their Halo 3 mod.

But That's when David found

something on his dev kit

that he had only dreamed of ever finding

PartnerNet

It's where game developers test

their unreleased games on Xbox Live,

meaning.... there were dozens

of unreleased games

that they could just play months

before anyone else.

I mean, for a true gamer,

...that's the dream.

But PartnerNet isn't open to the world.

It's only for licensed developers

with the dev kit

and in this case, Anthony and David.

To them, it felt like a secret club

that they were in.

But when developers

noticed their unreleased games

being played online,

they decided to leave the two

a little message.

The next time they logged on.

Winners don't break into partnerNet...

but to Anthony and David,

this wasn't a big deal.

I mean, they were simply just curious

about these upcoming games.

It was all in the name of fun, right?

But outside of stealing games off

PartnerNet

the Halo community was amazed

with how far their mod had come.

Although bummed that

no one could even use it because again,

no one had a dev kit.

But that would all change in 2009.

In a presentation

that rocked Microsoft...Two

hackers revealed

that the Xbox 360 Security

had finally been broken.

The JTAG exploit

within a simple modification,

a regular Xbox 360

can have the abilities of a dev kit

to run

unsigned code

or in other words, mods

and piracy for everyone.

Within days,

thousands of people start JTAGing

their Xboxes and Microsoft,

was just FREAKING out..

because for Anthony and David

potentially now

anyone can use their mods

like infinite ammo

and super jump to cheat online

and people pay good money

to cheat online.

So in a genius move,

they sell access to their mod

for $100 an hour

and kids line up with Daddy's

AMEX (american express credit card) ready to max it out.

The two start

raking in about $8,000

a day, all via PayPal.

Remember,

these are kids making this kind of money.

But for David, making this fast, cash

just didn't do much to him.

According to him, money

was just never the motivation.

Rather,

he craved that high

of stealing those unreleased games.

It was a feeling that he just couldn't

even put a price on.

But now everything had been stolen off

of the partner net,

so to get his hands on even more,

David invited

more hackers into the group.

Now the Xbox Underground

at PAX

2010, developers were showing off

all of their upcoming games.

But Justin May,

a member of the underground

was on a mission.

You see, his Xbox account had been permabanned

He had emailed and called

but with no response back

and without his gamertag.

Justin... was a nobody.

So with nothing left to lose,

he was going to ask the director of Xbox

Live to unban them.........in person

and we have it on video.

I actually came to PAX

primarily for this panel.

Can you Un- ban my gamertag please?

I played forza 3...

I'm sorry.

I’m sorry you shouldnt have done that

_

There are some punishments

for which there's sort of No recourse..

Yeah. The plan fails.

But Justin wasn't just going to walk away

empty handed from Pax.

The next day at the convention,

Justin was stalking

the atomic games booth.

He had saw the golden shrine

on the pedestal,

am Xbox 360 dev kit

loaded with their unreleased game.

It was a Beaut.

Atomic had spent over $6

million developing it.

And Justin, he was just going to take it.

As they turn around, Justin opens up

his laptop, plugs it into the Dev kit.

But then security starts to walk

by and Justin bolts off...

and of course, they chase

right after him.

But being a true Xbox gamer,

he runs out of breath

and they tackle him down.

So now, with tears in his eyes,

he told security

it was all a big misunderstanding.

It was his WiFi not working

and he was connecting to the dev kit

to get on the internet.

But yeah,

the stolen source code was on his laptop.

Justin was F******

because Atomic Games works with the FBI.

So now this whole matter?

Yeah, it's become

a national security issue.

Within an hour,

they raid his home,

confiscate all of the Xboxes...and charge,

a kid with receiving stolen

trade secrets.

But then the rumors come out

that when Justin was arrested,

he was begging the cops that if he was

let go, well, he could name hackers

higher up in him

who stole

way more than just one little game.

But yeah, the judge didn't really care.

Justin would get the death sentence

for a gamer.

He got a court

order that he was banned

from playing his Xbox for 18 months.

And now David knew

he was going to get his hands

on more prerelease games.

He needed to be a lot quieter about it

now with David's growing reputation.

Opportunity’s started

just coming to him, and SuperDAE,

also known as Dylan Wheeler, brought him

the opportunity of a lifetime.

I've come across a leaked form database

with thousands of logging credentials.

Several emails belonging to Epic Games.

Employees thought we could work together

on this........ SuperDAE.

Now a lot of people

reuse their passwords,

and hackers know that.

Now it's

the biggest reason

why leaks like this even happen,

because it just reuse passwords.

Now, several emails in

this leak were at Epic Games.com.

So it's just one of those employees

reuse their passwords.

David could enter Epic games and steal

from one of the biggest video

game developers in the world.

But this kind of seemed

too good to be true

because who really was Dylan?

He said he'd been hacking

since the age of 12

and that he went to high

school in Australia

and that he just come out of nowhere

with this. I mean, was the kid fed?

But these logins did work,

although the minute

they logged into Epic games,

there was another problem.

These accounts for just the I.T.

support staff at Epic Games,

meaning they couldn't

see any of these upcoming

projects or games or, as Dylan said,

what a waste.

They just fix printers

and reset passwords.

But David's a smart cookie

because he thinks, well,

we have access to their emails.

Let's search for the word

password in those emails.

And that's when they come across

the granddaddy of corporate I.T.,

perhaps a master password list

for every employee that epic games

all on a word document

just for anyone to look at.

And all of this

because one employee

reused their password.

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Now the proof goes back

while infiltrating Epic's network.

They check in to the CEO,

the Art director Project Lead

tell even find a USB drive

for the chairman's Lamborghini

music loaded with Lady Gaga.

But after days of searching, David

finally found

what he had been looking for

the Mac daddy of unreleased games

Gears of War three.

This game had been delayed

multiple times.

Real gamers were dying to play it,

but David just couldn't download it.

I mean, even with an encrypted

Nigerian VPN,

it could obviously be traced back then.

What he needed was a hacked modem.

Makes it impossible

for anyone to track your down

and gives you free internet.

Well, these are normally impossible

to get a member of the underground.

Sanad..... He had one

At 3AM Sanad downloads

the game to a remote server

using this hacked modem.

But instead of just sending

a download link,

which again could be tracked,

then it burns

the game onto Blu rays

and emails him out to the crew.

So after all of the hard work and crimes

that they had committed,

David rips open

that package and pops

that sucker in and oh my God,

the game sucked.

It wasn't even playable.

But that's

when the fear set in for David,

because if this ever got out

that they had hacked into Epic games,

Yeah, they were looking at

some serious prison time.

Yeah. The next day, Gears of War

Three was leaked online

and yeah, it made national news.

Gears of War Three was leaked on the web.

Epic Games

warned people that downloading the title

may actually melt your system

because Epic had spent over $60 million

on its production

and Epic promised the public

they would find the SICK F****

could ever do such a thing.

But David just couldn't sleep.

I mean, did Epic have any evidence?

Were they just going to pop in

and arrest him?

And this curiosity

drove him into

hacking into Epic games again.

Where..... now

he found out that

the FBI was now involved,

but that still doesn't deter David.

They continue to stay in Epic's network

knowing that the FBI was in there

for months.

But just to monitor the investigation.

And although David

put up a strong front

to the others behind the scenes,

a kid was freaking out.

But David's problems only grew...

His Cheating Mod Business

that he had with Anthony Clarke.

Yeah, that was getting railed

with the Cease & desist letters

from game studios.

So the two shut that business down

but they remain pretty close friends.

Well David continued on his warpath

of stealing unreleased games.

Well Anthony Clarke

he had found his next

business opportunity

now in the FIFA

video game, you can earn FIFA coins

to build out a better team

playing against a computer or humans,

but these coins cannot be bought.

You have to play games to get coins.

But Anthony came across websites

that sold FIFA coins for cash.

Yeah, they were in China

and they did look a little sketch,

but you could buy the coins with cash.

And he got Anthony thinking,

What if he made a bot

that could automatically play

the FIFA game to earn the coins

and then maybe sell them off

to these Chinese websites? Genius idea.

So as a proof of concept,

he spends months developing a tool

and oh boy,

we're way better than even thought

it could play one whole game

against the computer

within a second, earning him

thousands of coins

a minute with just one Xbox

development kit running this tool.

It made about Anthony 30 bucks

an hour automatically

24 seven per machine.

But then his first week of wholesaling

coins out to China,

Anthony had made a couple of grand

and of course the business grew.

He bought dozens of dev kids

racking up the electricity bill

at his house.

And while David wanted nothing

to do with the FIFA Coin business..

he referred him out.

More programmers

like Nathan Leroux

and Austin Acala

to develop the tool even further.

And this business grew.

But was this even legal?

Now, after a few months of watching

every email come through epic games,

the FBI just stopped

emailing their security team

because even with the crew

still inside of Epic’s network,

they had no idea who had leaked

Gears of War three or in other words,

they had gotten away with it.

David grew intoxicated by the power

he had of leveraging his skills

not only for personal gain,

but now financial gain

instead of stealing games for free.

Oh, he had found a bunch

of rich ass gamers

who would pay him the big bucks

to steal games for a business.

This whole hacking thing?

Yeah,

it was a growing, expanding business.

Now, if you ever played Fortnite, **Screams of Pleasure**

you've probably heard of Unreal Engine.

Now it's a tool for game

developers to build out the worlds

and you know, some of the biggest video

games out there and wouldn't you know it

Unreal Engine is owned by Epic games,

meaning that a master password

list for every employee that epic.

Yeah that could be a springboard

into hacking into every company

in the goddamn world.

So with months of meticulous planning,

they sneaked through the virtual defenses,

mainly using reused passwords.

They began to break in and steal

from every major game

developer in the world.

Hundreds of companies,

thousands of games having total control

over their networks,

or is a David said himself.

to the Australian Department of Defense?

I have every single big company...

Intel, AMD Nvida, any game company you can name

Microsoft, Disney, Warner Brothers,

Disney, everything.

But after breaching Microsoft,

that's when they stole the secret

that had been hidden from the public Eye.

It was the files for the unreleased Xbox

One prototype called the Durango,

the source code, the tech specs,

all of the assembly instructions

for a group of Xbox hackers

having the next gen Xbox documents.

Yeah, that's like the craziest thing ever.

And they decided

they were going to build

a counterfeit of it.

Now would probably sound insane,

but a Durango or Xbox

One is just off the shelf

parts like a computer.

So using those documents

they stole is a build guide.

They put together a counterfeit Durango

and they just stare at it

because there was no games for it.

So, Austin Acala thinks....

Maybe we can sell this,

you know, to make some money off

of that Microsoft hack, but not on eBay.

That would bring way too much heat.

So Austin builds out the Durango

and they find a dude

in West Africa

who pays them five grand

for this counterfeit Durango.

And then all of a sudden,

after talking to

no one for two years,

Justin May shows up and he's back in the crew

and he offers to ship it out

because, quote,

I can get a good deal on shipping.

And the crew lets him.

But the Durango would never even arrive

because the buyer in West Africa,

that was the FBI.

Now Dylan Wheeler was the kid who just

always had to be right.

And now

with this secret

knowledge of the Xbox One,

he argued all day in the forums

about what it would be,

what it looked like.

But no one believed him.

And this pissed off Dylan Wheeler.

So much

so he ends up leaking

all of the stolen

documents from Microsoft

and hell even puts his Twitter handle

in it.... he thinks. that em show em...

But then behind everyone's backs,

that's still not enough.

He puts the Durango on eBay

and of course, the news picks it up.

They got a Durango on eBay

that got the documents all leaked.

It's one of Microsoft's

biggest leaks in years.

And although the crew was

freaking out over this

attention, Dylan just loved it.

He was doing interviews

as the Xbox Leak kid.

What was the whole purpose of you

leaking information

about Durango to Microsoft over

the purpose of

this is what can happen

if you don't fix these problems.

This wasn't malicious,

but it's still not enough.

Dylan NOW wants games for his Durango

so he starts hacking into more video game

companies by himself

to find more upcoming games.

But he finds something even better.

Zombie Studios

has a direct VPN connection to the U.S.

military.

Maybe they were making the game,

he thought.

So he gets in the network

and instead of some stupid Xbox game,

we find something even crazier.

The training simulator for the AH-64D

Apache helicopter.

And he thinks

maybe I could sell it to the Arabs.

So he commits espionage and steals

a half a million lines of code

and he just could not wait to tell David.

I mean, that's the ultimate

unreleased game, right?

Oh, but David

was livid, stating,

How the hell

are we even supposed to play this?

You're an idiot.

The Arabs already have

Apache helicopters,

so why would they need a simulator?

Get the hell out of here, man.

You're done.

But Dylan's problems

were just only beginning.

At the age of 17, Dylan Wheeler

had Microsoft investigator

Miles Hawkes in his living room.

Now, he had flown

all the way out to Australia

just to ask Dylan,

How did he get all these

Durango documents?

And Dylan

just tells them

everything.....That HE hacked into Microsoft

with a team of experts

that he was the leader of.

And it was all because

he was a curious little boy.

But that whole

putting the Durango on eBay,

that was just the big joke.

Lighten up, buddy.

So Miles

lets them off with a little warning.

Stop hacking Microsoft,

stop posting Durango stuff on eBay

and we're all good.

The next

day, Dylan puts the

Durango on eBay

and Microsoft shuts down the listing

and Bill Gates calls in a little raid

from the Australian PO LICE

They bust in through his house

and oh boy,

they find evidence

of hacking into the U.S.

military, hundreds of game developers,

and that he had hosted servers

with child content on it,

which that detail gets left out a lot.

So now Dylan's facing

22 felony charges

awaiting trial out on bail,

but it even gets dumber.

He does an interview with Kotaku magazine

readers, tells the world

that he had hacked

into every game developer.

But it wasn't just to make money.

No, no, no.

It was just because...He was

a curious little boy.

The interview is linked down below,

and it's pretty funny.

Even the reporter doesn't believe em...

Oh, in all that child stuff

again, that wasn't him.

That was just the other hackers

in the Xbox Underground

who had also been

now been raided by the feds,

except for David.

Now, while David's crew

was just falling apart, Anthony

Clarke's business was growing

like a startup.

Their production increased to 1 million

FIFA coins a second.

Anthony hired

programmers, accountants, attorneys

hell even formed an LLC in

just eight months,

Anthony made over $7 million.

He bought this house Mercedes.

His coworkers bought Lamborghinis

all from FIFA coins.

But the money hadn't come that easy.

Well, at first

the FIFA game had no security.

They now had it in CAPTCHAs

to prevent the bots

that they were now using.

But again,

no problem,

they just developed

bots to do the CAPTCHAs.

But the real question

was, was this even legal?

Now the coins weren't stolen

or hacked from FIFA.

It was just a bot

that played

hundreds of games a second, you know,

to get beat the coins that again,

couldn't be bought.

I mean, in their own terms.

The service says the coins have no value,

mainly for tax reasons.

So how could it be fraud?

Now, months after the raid

of others in the crew,

David received the message from Arman,

the cyber, with an opportunity.

Now, Arman

had stolen a real Durango

from Microsoft's headquarters.

He had a family friend that worked there

and Arman cloned his employee

badge and just dressed up

like a dork

and walked in their headquarters

and just took it.

And he told Dave that it was so easy

that he'd be willing to do it again

to get David his own Durango in exchange,

of course, for a couple of grand

now to ME....this guy

Seems like a total Fed (Undercover Federal Agent)

But to David,

it seemed like a great idea.

So he went through with it.

So wearing his Bill

Gates, deluxe uniform

and his fake badge, Arman gets in.

Now, he had heard

the Durangos were on the fifth floor,

but his badge didn't have that

security clearance to get in there.

So, you know, at America's

most technologically

advanced company on Earth,

he bypasses all of their security

by taking the stairs,

And he shoves two durangos,

in his backpack..

walks out like nothing ever happened.

Bam, bam, bam, mission accomplished.

Yeah. The next week,

Arman gets a call from Microsoft

headquarters.

They wanted him

to come down to their offices

to have a little chat with them

because Arman...had gotten HIRED there..

And that's

when he remembered, Oh, my God,

I put in my job application last month.

So David's got a Durango,

Armand's got a new job,

and they lived happily ever.

It was actually

All a trap to bring Arman

in Microsoft's interrogation room.

They had it all on cameras,

and Arman confesses to everything.

Now they tell Arman

that Microsoft

would not press any charges

if he could just bring the Durango’s back

or else things would get nasty.

Armand calls David freaking out, saying,

How F****ed they would it be

if they didn't get these Durango’s back

He’ll give him all

his money, Just send the Durango back.

Anything...... but David just stops

picking up his calls

because this was their Arman's problem,

not his

pulling up to the U.S.

border.

David and his father told Customs

that they were just driving

to the US to run real quick Errand...

But after just one

glance of David's face,

they asked him to get out of the car

and they put him in handcuffs.

And they tell us, Dad,

that David would not be coming home

for a very long time.

For the last eight months,

the FBI had a secret

indictment listing David Pokora

as the first foreign hacker to be charged

criminally in the United States.

Why?

Stealing over

$100 million in American trade secrets

now, along with David was Sanad,

Austin Acala...

and Nathan Leroux were

all arrested and charged

as coconspirators.

Now all four would plead guilty

to stealing over $100 million

in trade secrets

with Nathan, Sanad and David

all getting prison time

except for Austin.

Because

The FBI had found something

very interesting on his computer.

Now, while Anthony Clark had been David's

business partner in the past,

he never got caught up in this case.

He didn't steal games.

He just mined FIFA coins.

But when the FBI found evidence

on Austin Acala’s

computer of this FIFA

coin mining operation

that made millions of dollars.

Yeah, that's who they went after next.

On September

2015, Anthony Clark

and his three employees

who were separate from

the group were raided

from the IRS,

where they seized over

$4 million in assets

because Anthony had little business.

Yeah, that it made him over

$18 million in a couple of years.

But the problem started

when he was withdrawing up

to $30,000 a day from his 13

personal bank accounts

because those glitched FIFA for coins

he made....While he did sell them to China

and hell

even paid his taxes on them...

the government said

it was all wire fraud.

Now Anthony's

three partners

who also made millions from this,

did a plea deal

to give up all of the money

they made in exchange

for absolutely no jail time.

Because, you know,

if the FBI brings a case against you,

there's a 99% chance

that they're going to win.

But Anthony truly felt he was innocent.

His attorneys

thought they could win a case at trial

because, again, these FIFA coins

couldn't be bought from EA..

He didn't hack in.

He didn't steal the coins.

So how could you commit wire fraud

for something that's free?

But when the prosecutor said it,

If this was not money nor property

they were obtaining,

then what are they getting paid

$16 million for?

That's when the jury found

Anthony Clark guilty of conspiracy

to commit wire fraud.

So pleading

innocent to

22 charges, Dylan Wheeler had 48 hours

to hand in his passport

to the Australian police,

but instead his mom

just drives him to the airport.

And then he hops on a flight

and he leaves the country to the Czech

Republic,

all because Dylan had dual

citizenship there

and he couldn't be extradited back.

He was now a free man

now instead of

just laying low

as a fugitive on the run, Dylan

does interviews with the news.

To be honest,

it's quite scary that I was able to leave

to leave on my Australian passport

because they have a system

that they use that border control.

Find out

if you're criminal, if you're

if you're trying to leave the country.

And they will flag you.

Normally....

Australia would arrest his mom after

he said that and even sentenced HER

to two years in prison

because technically, you know,

she was harboring a fugitive

when she drove to the airport.

Now, Dylan Wheeler's

alone in the Czech Republic.

His mom's locked up. He's got no money.

So he gets a job at a cybersecurity firm

that specializes in banks.

Dylan did an interview saying

he's a reformed character.

He's a good boy now.

But a week later,

customers at these banks begin

complaining that

hundreds of thousands of dollars

were getting transferred onto the debit

card of an Australian citizen.

Who could that be?

Oh, Dylan Wheeler.

So the Czech police raid his apartment

and they find he's

counterfeiting money now,

so he pleads guilty in the Czech Republic

and then he only gets probation

and then he flees off to England.

Now, while in England,

he starts his own cybersecurity

firm called Day After Exploit.

You know, he's

given interviews, he's

doing security conference presentations.

But then in October of 2020,

his business dissolves,

his Twitter shuts down,

he deactivates his website.

There is not a trace of him

past October 2020.

So we got a hold of one

of Dylan's old coworkers

and they said he had left.

England was actually living in Poland,

but not for what you think,

because there

he had decided

to rob a Polish bank

with two random dudes

he just met at a bar.

But then the whole thing was caught

on hidden camera.

So the next day, Dylan

Wheeler's arrested,

and today

he sits in a Polish prison

with a ten year sentence

for robbing a bank.

Now, the week before his

sentencing out on bail,

Anthony was out for his birthday

and he partied so hard with his friends.

And after that

final round of shots,

hugging all of his friends, goodbye,

Anthony went to bed knowing

that his friends

and family really did have his back.

But sadly, he would wake up the next day.

His mom found him not breathing.

The coroner would rule

an accidental drug overdose

from mixing the Vicodin and the alcohol.

There was no note left behind.

He never talked

about doing this on purpose.

It was all an accident.

He had so much to offer to the world

from such a young age.

He was such a talented programmer

and the to see it all be ended like this.

It's really a tragic story.

But for the others, like David, Sanad

and Austin Acala today,

they have thriving careers

as programmers, cryptographers.

Some even have families of their own.

And while I did contact them

for their side of this story, all of them

refused to comment