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Want to create an MMO? One man apparently decided the way to realize that goal was to hack a game, nab the code, then use that to set up his own game. A federal grand jury has indicted Anil Kheda of the Netherlands for allegedly conspiring to hack into and disable computer servers of Rampid Interactive LLC, a Portsmouth-based company that created Outwar, a free text-based browser MMORPG. Kheda also faces extortion charges.
The indictment alleges that Kheda, along with others, hacked into Rampid's servers and performed numerous unauthorized tasks, including restoring suspended accounts and stealing the game's code. The hacking took Outwar offline for nearly two weeks over a nine-month period, costing Rampid over $100,000. Kheda then created and profited from his game Outcraft using stolen code. The indictment also contains excerpts from emails in which Kheda threatens and tries to blackmail Rampid employees. If convicted on both charges, Kheda faces up to seven years in prison.
