MS-employees accused of theft AltaVista-code
Agents of the FBI arrested last week Laurent Chavet, a 29-birthday American of French origin, on accusation of theft of the source code for Altavista's missing robot. Chavet worked between June 1999 and February 2002 as computer engineer by AltaVista in the ontwikkelteam of the missing machine. On 28 March 2002, almost two months after its discharge, provided Chavet self with the inlogdata of an ex-colleague entry till a protected Server of AltaVista and copyde it divide of the source code for the missing robot to its pc. In June 2002, Chavet would have broken in again on the network of AltaVista. At the detectives of the FBI declared Chavet that he the computer burglaries ankle committed from interest, to see how its work since its discharge gevolueerd was.
Chavet is accused now for the hacking of a computer and for the dealing of at least 5,000 dollars at damage as consequence of that computer burglary. The inhabitant of Kirkland (Washington) was arrested, but after the paying of 10,000 dollars security he was released temporarily again. For both charges, Chavet risks at most five year cell and 250,000 dollars fine.
The affair comes quite very inconvenient for Chavets present employer Microsoft. Although the softwaregiant it not officially have affirmed, report colleagues of the programmer that Chavet cooperated at the new MSN Search-missing machine. Microsoft want to lay with an own missing machine market leader Google the fire at the shins. The charge for theft of program code is not only against Chavet and against Microsoft directed, but the incident brings Microsofts missing motor source in a difficult public prosecutor. Last week besides a similar affair with Google at the light came. An employee, that the Orkut-vriendensite of Google considered, will the code of that stolen have by its previous employer.
AltaVista arose in the middle of years '90 as test case For a new, powerful databankserver of computer builder Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC). For years on end was AltaVista the most popular missing machine on it yet young World Wide Web, until present market leader Google took about the torch. In 1998, Compaq the mother business DEC bought on and became AltaVista split off. The missing machine came finally via aboutture in hands of Yahoo!.