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Breach trailer shows off all its wonderful toys
This trailer from Atomic Games' Breach is like the Consumer Electronics Show of killing guys -- all the hottest gadgets are on display, from IR sights that let you take out snipers to motion sensor activators. The downloadable game is out January 26, but you can see the gear in action right now.
Breach release date broached: January 26
Breach -- the game one guy breached the law to get an early copy of -- has finally been dated for release on Wednesday, January 26 by developer Atomic Games, which will self-publish the title. The date applies to the "worldwide" availability of both the XBLA and PC versions of the multiplayer shooter, breaching initial plans to stagger the releases starting this past summer. The PC version -- available in boxed-copy format or as a download -- will retail for $20, while the XBLA game has been set at $15 (1200 points). The premium PC edition will indeed be backed by a little more oomph, featuring Nvidia PhysX tech (i.e., "larger explosions"), a "higher performance" Hardcore Mode ("to play the way operatives train") and dedicated servers. Breach the break [STOP THAT - Ed.] for some new gameplay footage.
Atomic Games still wants to finish Six Days in Fallujah
The saga of Six Days in Fallujah hasn't completely ended yet -- Atomic Games' Peter Tamte admits that the game isn't actually finished (no duh), but tells VG247 that "what we need is the funding to complete it." While showing off the company's new downloadable shooter, Breach, to journalists in London, Tamte said that publishers just aren't willing to commit to telling stories like the ones told in Six Days, and that's resulting in falling industry sales. "It should be clear to them," Tamte says, "that the path we are on right now is taking us downhill. And yet when I have conversations with publishers, I still get the message back – 'No, we pretty much want to keep doing what we're doing.'" Atomic is trying to counteract that with Breach, a full-scale military shooter that's being sold for a DLC price, designed "to disrupt the way games are priced and to create an environment where original content can flourish." Breach isn't Six Days remade -- rather, it's a re-use of the engine that Atomic developed, along with some tries at strong innovation in terms of destructible environments and cover. And it sounds like Tamte hopes that Breach will make finishing and publishing Six Days possible again. Sounds good, but of course let's get one game out there before we start promising two -- Breach is scheduled for release sometime next year.
PayPal app has huge security flaw, update rushed to Apple
You'd think by now we'd all be wary of open WiFi networks, and luckily that's the only way this could affect you, but if you use the PayPal app on an open network the Wall Street Journal is reporting a hacker could potentially nab your user account. According to the story, the app doesn't verify your security certificate (which is kind of the point of the certificate, no?) and goes along its merry way, transmitting your data to PayPal in a way that a fortuitous ne'er do well could intercept. Still, as the WSJ points out, a hacker would have to be poised and ready to take advantage of this exploit. I doubt you're sitting around in that app for hours while sipping your latte at Starbucks, right? The app in the store shows the last update was October 26, but the WSJ reports a fixed version has been sent to Apple. We've reached out to PayPal to see if the updated app is available yet, but haven't heard back. For now, if you must use this app in public, turn off WiFi to avoid the exploit. This issue does not affect users of the PayPal Android app or visitors to the website. Update: Looks like version 3.0.1 arrived shortly after we posted this. PayPal away in relative security, everyone!
Breach thief placed on pre-trial probation, must stay off Xbox Live
Justin May, the man accused of attempting to steal Atomic Games' unreleased title Breach during PAX East, was placed on pre-trial probation in Boston Municipal Court yesterday. Suffolk County District Attorney Press Secretary Jake Wark informed Joystiq that the conditions of the probation are that May "stay in school, not reoffend, stay off of Xbox Live web sites, and forfeit his computer, which was seized at the time of his arrest." If May follows the conditions, his case will be dismissed after 18 months. If not, he'll be "put back on track for trial." May was arrested last March when he attempted to steal Breach from the PAX East show floor. He then skipped bail and eventually agreed to show up for court in May, with the latest hearing set for yesterday. We've contacted Atomic Games for comment on the outcome. Update: Atomic Games' president Peter Tamte's statement after the break.
Breach delayed until January 2011
It seems alleged Breach code thief Justin May could have gotten a sneakier peek than even he would have expected. Atomic Games has just announced that its XBLA shooter won't arrive this summer as previously announced, but rather in January of 2011. Though Atomic says the game is finished now, the company missed Breach's originally slated June date, and the XBLA schedule was apparently just too full to slip it in any sooner than January. In the interim, the developer will be adding a "Hardcore" mode, which is apparently lifted from more realistic versions of the game that outside organizations commissioned for training purposes. Well, you're welcome, Jack Thompson. %Gallery-88941%
AT&T sends email to iPad 3G owners affected by security breach
We've heard from several iPad 3G-owning readers who got an email today from AT&T's chief privacy officer regarding the exposure of email addresses due to the hacking efforts of Goatse Security. The full email is reproduced in the second half of this post. As was pointed out last week, the email emphasizes the limited nature of the information that was revealed; it also reminds affected users that they might see an increase in spam or phishing attempts. If you're one of the folks who got this email, let us know below.
FBI steps in to investigate iPad security breach
You might recall yesterday's news that a little trickery into AT&T's systems brought about the breach of 114,000 Apple iPad-owning email addresses. Now it seems the FBI has taken an interest in the case and has launched an investigation into the "potential cyber threat" of the snafu. As far as we know and have seen, the hackers were able to obtain just email addresses, although with that comes the knowledge that the victims in question own iPad 3Gs and don't mind AT&T's service -- don't click on any odd billing statements if you were affected. As stated previously, the carrier has subsequently apologized and proverbially "plugged the hole" from which the info was obtained. Not sure anything will come of this inquiry, but we'll let you know what we hear.
AT&T website scraped to reveal iPad 3G owners' email addresses
While there's no specific security risk associated with the pairing of ICC-ID and the email address of a subscriber -- other than the likelihood of spam or the possibility of phishing -- it's still a bad, bad thing to be giving away customer data out the front door. How many pairs of IDs and emails did the gang at Goatse Security (yes, that's their name) manage to collect before AT&T became aware of their activities? About 114 thousand. One hundred and fourteen thousand. Of course, since the script attack was shared around before AT&T closed the hole, the total number of scraped accounts could be much higher -- possibly up to the total number of iPad 3Gs activated with the carrier. There's no way to know at the moment. What's particularly stinging about the data scraping is that many of the email addresses appear to be associated with high-profile government or industry iPad buyers. As the Washington Post reported this week, the Apple tablet is a fairly common accessory among White House staff; it looks like chief of staff Rahm Emanuel's email is among the ones discovered, and there are plenty of addresses ending in .mil as well. As for individuals? Well, in this case we defer to the experts on Apple device security -- or lack thereof -- at Gizmodo: no, you probably don't have much to worry about. It may be a good idea to register devices with a secondary/free email address, just to cut down on spam, but otherwise there aren't really any preventative steps to be taken here. We've emailed both Apple and AT&T for comment on this story. The statement from Mark Siegel, AT&T's executive director of media relations, is as follows: "AT&T was informed by a business customer on Monday of the potential exposure of their iPad ICC IDS. The only information that can be derived from the ICC IDS is the e-mail address attached to that device. This issue was escalated to the highest levels of the company and was corrected by Tuesday; and we have essentially turned off the feature that provided the e-mail addresses. The person or group who discovered this gap did not contact AT&T. We are continuing to investigate and will inform all customers whose e-mail addresses and ICC IDS may have been obtained. We take customer privacy very seriously and while we have fixed this problem, we apologize to our customers who were impacted." Updated to correct number of affected accounts.
AT&T breach reveals 114,000 iPad owners' email addresses, including some elite customers
Uh oh. According to Valleywag, an AT&T security breach led to the exposure of 114,000 email addresses (and associated SIM / ICC identifiers) belonging to Apple iPad owners. A group of hackers calling themselves Goatse Security (be careful looking that one up) figured out a number of ICC-IDs and ran a script on AT&T's site through a faked iPad UserAgent, which would then return the associated addresses. Some of those affected were actually quite big names, including the CEOs of The New York Times and Time Inc., some higher-ups at Google and Microsoft, and even a number of employees from NASA, FAA, FCC, and the US military. For its part, AT&T tells AllThingsD that it was informed of the issue on Monday, that only the addresses and associated ICC-IDs were revealed, and that by Tuesday the "feature" that allowed addresses to be seen had been turned off. And as Security Watch's Larry Seltzer cautions in a statement to PC Mag, the impact of this breach -- just email addresses -- is probably somewhat exaggerated. Still, regardless of the magnitude, this can't be making AT&T's day at all bright, and you best believe a number of folks in Cupertino have fire in their eyes over this bad press. [Thanks to everyone who sent this in]
Accused PAX East 'Breach' thief shows up for court
Justin May, the 20-year-old man accused of trying to steal Atomic Games' Breach off the PAX East show floor, finally showed up in court today -- after previously skipping bail and eventually agreeing to appear for arraignment. Assistant District Attorney Kate Clayman briefly recited the facts of the case in Boston Municipal Court this morning and the judge released May on his own recognizance. No monetary bail was set. Suffolk County District Attorney Press Secretary Jake Wark told Joystiq that May will return to court with his defense attorney on June 27 to file a motion to dismiss the case. According to Atomic Games' complaint filed with Boston police, the company placed the value of Breach "in excess of $6 million." We're currently following up with Atomic Games and the District Attorney's office to find out how events are expected to proceed from here. Update: Comment from Atomic and the DA's office after the break. %Gallery-88941%
Alleged PAX East 'Breach' thief agrees to appear May 19 in Mass. court
Justin May, the man who allegedly attempted to steal Atomic Games' Breach at PAX East, has agreed to appear for arraignment in Boston Municipal Court on May 19, according to the Suffolk County District Attorney's Office. May was originally supposed to show up for his arraignment on Tuesday, March 30, but apparently decided he had more important things to do. May is accused of attempting to steal Breach, which Atomic Games values "in excess of $6 million." According to Suffolk Country District Attorney Press Secretary Jake Wark, May faces a maximum of five years for each of the the two theft charges and fines. We're currently following up to find out if he faces any additional charges for not showing up in court this week. A representative for Atomic Games tells Joystiq, "Atomic Games is happy to see justice being served. We hope the court understands the severity of the crime. This is a theft that impacts not just our company, but all developers who want to share our games with the public at large shows, such as PAX." Update: When asked if May would face any additional charges for skipping bail, press secretary Wark told us, "No, no additional charges at this point. He actually contacted the court upon learning of the default warrant and made arrangements to postpone the court date. Given that he and his whereabouts are known to authorities, that he has no criminal record, and that he affirmatively contacted the court, his request was granted. At the end of the day here, we aren't exactly dealing with John Dillinger, you know?"
Breach thief jumps bail, currently playing Modern Warfare 2 [update]
An arrest warrant has been issued for 20-year-old Justin D. May, the alleged thief of the Breach code at PAX East, after he failed to show up in a Boston court today. May posted $200 cash bail at the Boston Police station following his arrest and was ordered to appear for arraignment this morning. He was charged with larceny over $250 and "trade secret, buy/sell/receive stolen." As for May's potential punishment, especially now that he has fled, Suffolk Country District Attorney Press Secretary Jake Wark told Joystiq, "Both charges carry maximum five-year prison terms, though there are monetary fines as potential sentences. Neither offense carries a minimum term. Being a fugitive from justice carries a potential penalty in most states, but only in the jurisdiction to which a defendant flees. For the moment, he is only in default and not facing any enhanced penalties." According to the Boston Police report, May's attempted theft of Breach was valued at over $6 million dollars. May's current whereabouts are unknown, but we do have his Gamertag, which shows that wherever he is at the moment, he's playing Modern Warfare 2. Update 2: Added details about prison terms and fines. The person using May's Gamertag signed off after we contacted them. Update: The police report can be found after the break.
'Breach' game code theft at PAX East ends in arrest [update]
[Photo: Kevin Kelly] digg_url = 'http://www.joystiq.com/2010/03/30/breach-game-code-theft-at-pax-east-ends-in-arrest/'; An attempted theft of Atomic Games' Breach code on the PAX East show floor on the last day of the event was thwarted by vigilant members of the studio. According to a representative for the company, the suspected thief managed to download some of the code and then run into the crowd after he was spotted. He was eventually apprehended in the large crowd and the game's code was found on his computer. "The suspect did admit to us several times, including as he was doing it, that he was stealing the code. He said to myself and several other team members, after being caught, that it was not a big deal, he just really liked the game and wanted to play it with his friends," David Tractenberg, a spokesperson for Atomic, explained. "This guy had only succeeded in copying about 14MB to his laptop before our staff caught him," Atomic Games President Peter Tamte told Joystiq. "Because of the work we do for military and intelligence organizations, we take security issues like this very seriously ... It is fortunate for him that we caught him before any of this ended up on the internet. Many of the hackers who stole Valve's Half-Life 2 code were tracked down by the FBI's Cybercrime Task Force." %Gallery-88941%
Breach coming to PC 'six weeks after' XBLA version
On one of our many trips to Atomic Games' booth on the PAX East 2010 show floor, a representative of the developer told us Breach would see a release on PC in addition to Xbox Live Arcade. The multiplayer shooter will launch on XBLA this summer for $15, with the PC version expected to follow six weeks later. Breach on PC will only be available as a digital download; however, Atomic Games has not decided on a digital distribution platform yet.
Hands-on: Breach (XBLA)
Breach wants to go after Battlefield 1943. Atomic Games president Peter Tamte summed up DICE's digitally distributed title as a "stripped down version of a retail game," and believes that Breach can outdo last year's surprise XBLA hit with its accessibility and sandbox-style destructibility. Atomic hopes to have the game on XBLA this summer with a price of $15. Focusing on eight-on-eight multiplayer with combative and objective-based game modes, the game heavily emphasizes utilizing cover ... and blowing stuff up. %Gallery-88941%
Breach expected to launch this summer on XBLA for $15
We popped by Atomic Games' booth here at PAX to check out Breach, the dev's attempt to take on DICE's online-only, digitally distributed Battlefield 1943. Atomic president Peter Tamte revealed during our play session that he hoped to get Breach on XBLA this summer (as previously estimated), and that the developer is targeting a $15 price point. Considering how polished the game was in the state we saw it, we certainly believe it can meet that deadline. Look for our hands-on impressions later today.
Atomic Games breaks out Breach details
Atomic Games' Breach is a first-person, multiplayer shooter set to infiltrate Xbox Live Arcade this summer. The game mixes a cover system with destructible environments, and allows players to see their handiwork (or, umm, terrible aim) on walls, floors, ceilings and even single bricks. Featuring four classes (five after mastering two classes), an experience points system to purchase gadgets, four maps, four game types, 23 weapons and more, Breach seems like it's going for the type of hefty multiplayer experience one would expect from a full-priced retail title -- though we hope it'll have a less traumatic trip to release than the same developer's Six Days in Fallujah did. We'll have a hands-on later today at PAX East. %Gallery-88941%
Breach announced by Six Days in Fallujah dev, Atomic Games
While confirming that Six Days in Fallujah – the inspired-by-real-events military FPS hot potato that Konami tossed aside last year – was "still going to be coming out," developer Atomic Games also told Joystiq that it has "a game coming out first," which the dev will "be working on ... before Six Days in Fallujah." Over the wire just now comes news of Atomic's latest: Breach, a "multiplayer" FPS "based on the elite CIA Special Activities Division officers." Much of the press release is cleverly "redacted" -- highlighting the black areas reveals hidden text: "so you've managed to decode this section to reveal the classified information. Come on! Did you really think it was going to be that easy? Yes, we do work for military and intelligence organizations. Yes, we are creating a game that will blow your mind. Yes, some of it was actually redacted. Yes, many of us have security clearances. So what that all means is I can't tell you anything more than is in this release until it's okay. Until then, we are high-speed, low-drag and ready to work. Molon Labe!" Wikipedia tells us that "molon labe" is the motto of the United States Special Operations Command Central (that's SOCCENT for you military buffs), so expect some adherence to real-world events, military jargon and other things that suggest authenticity. That is Atomic Games' forte, after all. Breach is in development for "consoles and personal computers."
T-Mobile tweaks data breach statement again, now says nothing was compromised
Once again, T-Mobile has released a statement regarding the alleged hack into its systems last weekend, and it's backtracked a bit from the last one -- now, it's starting to sound like no data was stolen at all. Here's what we've got this time around from a company spokesperson:"Following a recent online posting that someone allegedly accessed T-Mobile servers, the company is conducting a thorough investigation and at this time has found no evidence that customer information, or other company information, has been compromised. Reports to the contrary are inaccurate and should be corrected. T-Mobile continues to monitor this situation and as a precaution has taken additional measures to further ensure our customers' information and our systems are protected. As is our standard practice, customers can be assured if there is any evidence that customer or system information has been compromised, we would inform those affected as quickly as possible."We're taking this as a good sign for customers at this point, but it's hard to say how many more statements we'll get before the matter's fully closed, so stay tuned.
