Man pleads guilty to hacking Microsoft and Nintendo after causing $3+ million in damages

Over the last couple years, a man by the name of Zammis Clark has been busy hacking Microsoft and Nintendo. And now, after causing millions in damages, he has pled guilty. Head below for more details.

Hacking Microsoft and Nintendo:

Clark was detained back in 2017 after breaching Microsoft’s servers and accessing confidential, pre-released versions of Windows, along with other things. In total, reports suggest he (and those he gave access to) stole more than 43,000 files from servers mainly used to distribute early code to developers. He used malware at some point which led members of Microsoft’s security team, the FBI and other groups to find the stolen files on his PC. Those files were also shared with hackers from all across the globe at some point beforehand.

At the time, it appears as though it was a quick slap on the wrist for Clark – leaving him entirely free to access the internet thereafter – and move on to his next target.

Gets Set Free Only to Strike Again:

The former security researcher for Malwarebytes, with no restrictions on his internet access after being caught the first time, turned his attention to Kyoto. Hacking Microsoft and Nintendo certainly isn’t easy, but with not much more than internet access and a nice little VPN (Virtual Private Networks), he went to work on the big N. It wasn’t long before Clark was knee deep in confidential documents. On top of stealing thousands of usernames and passwords, this exploit also made him privy to early development game code and more.

Hacking Microsoft and Nintendo in this way can lead to some serious losses as well. Estimates from both companies suggest a total of as much as $4 million dollars in damages were cause by Clark’s extra curricular actives.

Don’t start Hacking Microsoft and Nintendo:

The 24-year old Zammis Clark has now pled guilty to hacking Microsoft and Nintendo. That, you would think, comes along with a pretty severe penalty these days. But even after being arrested for the massive Vtech hack from 2015, the judge decided Clark won’t be facing any jail time. He is both autistic and has Prosopagnosia (or face blindness). Due to this and his parent’s dedication to rehabilitating the young man, the court found it would be more of risk for him in jail than not. He was sentenced with a total of 15 months imprisonment (suspended for 18 months). that means he will not see actual jail time unless he decides to hacking Microsoft and Nintendo (or any one else for that matter).

9to5Toys’ Take:

While clearly it seems as though the judge made the right call keeping him out of prison where his condition would almost certainly make him a target, the penalty feels a little bit light to me. Even the GTA Online cheater had to dish up $150,000 in damages. If he is capable of hacking Microsoft and Nintendo, then he should be able to give back to the community in some way or other. Having said that, there is a Serious Crime Prevention Order in place here which would see him faced with an unlimited fine and five years in prison if he decides to get busy again.

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