Nintendo Switch that was released in 2017 was found hacked before its public launching date. This was the result of the investigation of the U.S. Department of Justice in the Western District of Washington on Friday, Jan. 31.
Interestingly, the suspect behind the hacking was a 17-year old guy. Since the suspect was a minor back then, the authorities decided to let go of him and free charges. However, in 2019, the suspect continues to hack the gaming console and even bragged his successful hacking to his social media accounts.
How did this 21-year old guy become a Nintendo Switch hacker
On Friday, 21-year old Ryan Hernandez from Palmdale, California, pleaded guilty in U.S. District Court in Seattle to federal crimes related to his computer hacking scheme and his possession of child pornography found on his digital devices.
Ryan Hernandez or AKA 'Ryan West' or 'RyanRocks' already had a hacking record back in 2016 wherein he was still a minor. Hernandez and his associate created a "phishing technique to steal credentials of a Nintendo employee, which were exploited to gain access to and download confidential Nintendo files related to its consoles and games," according to the ruling.
Nintendo Switch Faced Hacking Even Before its Official Launching Date; Suspect Aged 17 Back Then
In 2017, the same crime was filed against Ryan forcing the authorities to speak to his parents wherein he promised the police that he would stop any further malicious activities and understood the effects once he does it again.
However, in June 2018 to June 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) returned to investigate Hernandez found multiple Nintendo servers that he uses to steal confidential information about Nintendo Switch's various popular video games, gaming consoles, and developer tools.
Much worse, the suspect even bragged all his hacked information to his Twitter and Discord accounts using his online chat forum named "Ryan's Underground Hangout," wherein he and other hackers discussed possible Nintendo vulnerabilities and their future products.
In the same month, the FBI also found in Ryan's room a collection of more than one thousand videos and images of minors engaged in sexually explicit conduct that were stored and sorted in a folder directory labeled "Bad Stuff."
Court ruling: Possible 20-year jail time
According to DOJ, the prosecutors and lawyers of Hernandez already agreed to give three-year jail time to the suspect. However, the final ruling still depends on the judge. He can be charged with statutory maximums of 5 years in prison for computer fraud and abuse, and 20 years in prison for possession of child pornography.
The suspect also agreed to pay over $250,000 in restitution to Nintendo for the remediation costs that his actions resulted in the company.
As of now, Nintendo Switch has not yet made any comments regarding the issue.
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