Security researcher pleads guilty to hacking into Microsoft and Nintendo

Zammis Clark, known online as Slipstream or Raylee, was charged on multiple counts of computer misuse offenses in a London Crown Court on Thursday, and pleaded guilty to hacking into Microsoft and Nintendo networks.Prosecutors revealed that Clark had gained access to a Microsoft server on January 24th, 2017 using an internal username and password, and then uploaded a web shell to remotely access Microsoft’s network freely for at least three weeks. Clark targeted unique build numbers to gain information on pre-release versions of Windows in around 7,500 searches for unreleased products, codenames, and build numbers.Clark then shared access to Microsoft’s servers through an Internet Relay Chat (IRC) server chatroom, allowing other individuals to access and steal confidential information. Nintendo estimates the cost of damages between £700,000 ($913,000) and £1.4 million ($1.8 million), and Microsoft previously provided the court with a vague estimate of around $2 million in damages.Clark, who was employed at the Malwarebytes security company at the time of the Microsoft hack, was also previously cautioned by British police after being arrested for his role in the massive Vtech data breach in 2015.