Kristopher Ives, Cyber Intrusion, Oregon 2020

Kristopher Ives, a 33-year-old man from Portland, Oregon, has been sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for his role in a cyber intrusion against his former employer, Gearbox Studios.

According to the FBI, between February and May 2015, Ives, who was the lead programmer for server architecture and support at Gearbox Studios, accessed the company's computers and stole and tampered with data. The data was used to attack Gearbox's servers and various websites belonging to the company's clients, deleting nearly 20,000 products and changing prices for various items.

Ives also stole names and credit card numbers from these Gearbox customer websites and threatened to release the information unless the company made payment to a bitcoin address. This brazen attack had significant financial and reputational consequences for Gearbox Studios and its clients.

Kristopher Ives pleaded guilty to one count of fraud in connection with computers on October 18, 2019. The case was investigated by the FBI's Oregon Cyber Task Force and prosecuted by Quinn P. Harrington, Assistant U.S. Attorney for the District of Oregon.

As a result of his actions, Ives has been sentenced to 12 months and one day in federal prison, followed by three years of supervised release. This sentence serves as a reminder of the serious consequences of cybercrime and the importance of protecting sensitive information.

Any public or private entity suspecting a cyber intrusion or attack should contact the FBI through the Internet Crime Complaint Center at www.ic3.gov or by calling your nearest FBI office.

In this case, the FBI's Oregon Cyber Task Force played a crucial role in investigating the cyber intrusion and bringing Ives to justice. The FBI urges all individuals and organizations to take proactive steps to protect themselves against cyber threats.

Source: https://www.justice.gov/usao-or/pr/portland-man-sentenced-federal-prison-cyber-intrusion-former-employer