An ex-Microsoft employee has been arrested and charged with leaking early copies of Windows 8 and Windows 7. Seattle PI reports that software architect Alex Kibkalo is accused of stealing trade secrets and leaking confidential beta copies of Windows 8 to
an unnamed “French technology blogger.” Kibkalo was reportedly
motivated to leak the software after a poor performance review at
Microsoft. Details and copies of Windows 7 and Windows 8 regularly
leaked during the course of the software’s development, and the French
blogger used a nickname online to protect their identity.
copies
of Windows were being regularly shared and leaked, Kibkalo is also
alleged to have stolen Microsoft’s “Activation Server Software
Development Kit,” software for a system used to protect against piracy.
The unnamed French blogger reportedly shared the kit online, allowing
others to circumvent activation protections used for Microsoft Office
and Windows. Microsoft identified the employee leaking the information
after the French blogger contacted another employee by email. Kibkalo
was arrested on Wednesday after more than a year of investigations, and
the ex-Microsoft employee will now appear in a US district court today.
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