William Genovese
William Genovese is an American criminal who goes by the moniker illwill.[1] Federal authorities charged Genovese with unlawful sale of a trade secret[2] (US Code Title 18, section 1832) for selling the Microsoft Windows 2000 operating system source code.[1] His sales were ill-fated, taking place, respectively, to Microsoft investigators and federal agents. Genovese sold two copies of the source code totaling $40 USD.[1]
[edit] Conviction
In 2005, Genovese was convicted of the unlawful sale of a trade secret. Genovese sold illegally obtained source code for Microsoft Windows Operating systems, including Windows 2000 and Windows 4.0.[3] The code Genovese sold was widely distributed on the Internet prior to his sale.[4] Following an investigation, Genovese was arrested in November 2004. In January 2006, he was sentenced to two years in federal prison, largely due to a previous criminal history.[5] At the time of his Microsoft-related arrest, Genovese was on probation for unrelated computer crimes.[2]
Genovese is also mentioned[6] in news articles, in connection with the notorious internet leak of Paris Hilton's mobile phone address book and Fred Durst's[7] sex tape leak.
[edit] References
- ^ a b c Defendant: Microsoft source code sale was a setup | The Register
- ^ a b U.S. Arrests Connecticut Man on Charge of Selling Stolen Microsoft Windows Source Code (November 9, 2004)
- ^ http://www.cio.com/article/17291/MS_Illwill_Hacker_Gets_Two_Years
- ^ Statement from Microsoft Regarding Illegal Posting of Windows 2000 Source Code
- ^ Microsoft Tricks Hacker Into Jail
- ^ Paris Hilton's Sidekick hacked | The Register
- ^ http://www.blender.com/guide/68174/who-does-fred-durst-think-he-is.html
