Hacking can be an utter disaster for many businesses, particularly given how much proprietary information there is out there to be had. An entire product line can be revealed or otherwise compromised, opportunities can be buried, and a host of other negative effects can be had when it comes to hackers getting into a system, even if product data isn't touched. The effects only get worse if customer data is impacted by the hacking, and losses can represent millions of dollars. Recently, one such hacking took place on a wide scale, going after computers at Microsoft (News - Alert), an array of game manufacturers, and the United States army itself.

The four men, all between the ages of 18 and 28, were allegedly involved in a string of hackings that brought in a variety of pieces. Not only did the group allegedly get hands on technology relating to Microsoft's Xbox One hardware line and the Xbox Live online gaming system, but also pre-release copies of games like “Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3” as well as the training software for the Apache helicopter. If it sounds odd that hackers would be after a game that's now several months old, there's a good reason; the indictment against the four was actually constructed in April, according to reports, but was only unsealed recently.

The cumulative value of the allegedly stolen property is said to be over $100 million total, and potentially as high as $200 million, but one of the charged claims that these figures are wildly overinflated. Two of the accused—Mississauga, Ontario's David Pokora and Washington, New Jersey resident Sanadodeh Nesheiwat—have reportedly pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit computer fraud and copyright infringement, which is said to carry a maximum sentence of five years in prison. That's quite a step down from what the four were originally charged with, specifically, an array of multiple charges of not only conspiracy to commit computer fraud and copyright infringement, but also both mail and wire fraud as well as theft of both identity and trade secrets.

One person who may have been involved in the event, Australia's David Wheeler, noted that the group “made nothing” outside of one act of theft by one of the hackers, which netted a reported $620,000. But the rest of it was “just curiosity.” Wheeler attracted attention back in 2012, when he listed for sale on popular auction site eBay a development prototype of the Xbox One gaming console that he had apparently made himself. This would have been something of an achievement except that the console was still being developed by Microsoft at the time.

The values here may indeed by somewhat inflated to make a point, but by like token, it's easy to see how the group went awry here. Selling a development prototype of a gaming console that's not available for market yet is certainly wrong, and while some might balk at calling “curiosity” a crime, the act of breaking into systems leaves many deeply concerned. There have been enough instances of credit card theft and the like to make any hacking—even that which doesn't necessarily net more than information—a significant cause for alarm.

It will, however, be interesting to see how this all comes out, and just what ultimately comes of this case. Perhaps it will drive businesses to bring better security measures into play against outside intrusion, or perhaps it will simply show just how vulnerable systems are to such intrusion.