Well, it looks like the C0VEN titan heist story reached the mainstream media in Poland, I have put together a rough translation of the article which got featured on TVN24, which is according to wikipedia “Poland’s first 24-hour news channel”:
Here’s the somewhat cleaned up version. I did my best with my limited knowledge of Polish syntax.
Player robs polish Eve Online alliance. Ships worth tens of thousands of Zlotys, gone.
Tinfoil Hattery
Could the Polish prosecutor’s office persecute the thief of several “internet space ships”? A group of EVE Online players, united under the banner of virtual alliance “c0ven” would surely like to as a virtual “thief in the night” deprived them of some of the largest ships in the game, worth up to several thousand Zlotys outside the game.
EVE Online, the online massively multiplayer game created by the Icelandic company CCP [Games], allows tens of thousands of players to simultaneously fight, build and trade in a virtual galaxy. Thousands of people gather in large coalitions fighting each other for control of hundreds of solar systems.
Costly loss.
The most valuable tools used to fight are big ships called Titans. The construction of each of them requires a great amount of work and it takes months to construct them. They are vastly more powerful than all the other ships in Eve. Titans are so closely guarded and are the most “strategic weapon” used in the alliance’s most important tasks. Security, however, failed in the Polish alliance “c0ven”.
As reported a few days ago, it’s members devoted to the EVE forums, someone broke into the players’ accounts of “Coven” and stole the four Titans, all of which belonged to a common alliance. I do not know what happened to them. The rumors on the forums is that the thief gave control of them to another large alliance.
Space investigation?
What is interesting is the reaction of players in “C0VEN”. The losses are estimated at around 600 billion ISK, equivalent to about 40 thousand zlotys (Game subscription time, PLEX, can be exchanged for ISK. PLEX can also be purchased for real currency. Thus the rate is fixed and it is possible to exchange ISK for real money. Directly selling ISK for real money is officially prohibited by the authors of the game). Because 40 thousand is not a small sum, the players of “c0ven” have threatened to file the case to the Polish prosecutor’s office. They also say that they tracked the IP address of the thief.
In recent years, Poland had successfully prosecuted several cases related to the theft of items in the virtual world, which ended with fines and imprisonment. It is therefore theoretically possible that law enforcement will seek to prosecute the theft of these Titans.
Author: mk / / gak / k / Source: tvn24.pl
Very interesting news. Corp theft in Eve Online is a regular occurrence. It is even sanctioned game-play by CCP. If Poland can prosecute the theft of the Titans, the implications of which could be far reaching. Will other countries observe this and follow suit, prosecuting virtual theft in Eve? Walk away with a T3… get a ticket? Pinch an alliance corp wallet, 30 days in the crowbar motel? Steal a shuttle full of PLEX… death by hanging?
Discussion: How far is just too far.
Some people have contested that services like eve-skunk break certain “laws” whenever someone leaks out or post information without someone else’s consent, but what about actual internet spaceships?
There is a good yahoo answer on a similar issue (this case email access):
If you give someone the key to your car or apartment is it illegal for them to drive your car or enter your house. Your password is your key to your computer, its a personal thing. If you give someone your password its no different than giving them access to your house or transportation. No Its not Illegal, Giving them your access information is the same as granting permission. If your concerned about someone reading your email then you should change your password and keep it to yourself.
The question remains whether there was an account sharing issue involved or not. In the end we doubt the Polish police might waste resources inquiring a “game theft”.
Let’s hope someone in CCP Games is savvy enough to turn this into a nice media stunt for CCP Games. Also in before “Not to worry, ______________ is in the case” jokes.
- Mauser
polish police busy more catching le drunktards, also if you're gonna compare ISK to real life currency gtfo to a p2w game, WHICH IS NOT EVE, piss off
Purge COVEN out of game.
Judges ? Police ? Its a game, btw on Iceland where Polish police can suck a big one.
Polish Police Forces in action: prosecuting c0ven's titans stealers, aresting, punishing everybody connected to this case: www.youtube.com/watch?v=_0ECKBfUFNs
attempted homicide when i get podded please
That would be murder two (second degree murder)
pretty sure it's murder one, there is defiantly intent when pod someone… maybe just manslaughter if it's a friendly and you're smartbombing.
Well it would by up to Concord prosecution to determine which avenue to take… Oh wait they just blow up your ship nvm
One thing is sure after reading all those comments…
Everywhere people are stupid the same, no mather the nation.
By insulting other nation You'r even worse
FA is a Pole friendly alliance we will welcome all your Titans and some of your players
Theft is theft at the end of the day and we in the CFC condone such actions unless we are the primary benefactors
fuck you goon
look at the damage catholicism can do. You must have been an altar boy and your rage is understandable
Oh and its FA just for the record but I will forgive you as you must have been typing your response through gritted teeth and tears.
LOL pole friendly (sorry had to)
Sharing accounts is a EULA violation
Stealing accounts and misusing them are both EULA violations
Converting ingame assets into real cash is a EULA violation
All in game assets are owned by CCP.
You pay or use ingame plex to gain access to this system.
This is pretty simple stuff.
Some terrible alliance did stupid stuff in game and gave access to things noone else should ever have had and then lost stuff.. in game.
The funny bit is the tears about 'meh interwebs space ships we gonna sue you!' picked up by some terrible tabloid press.. and all this was news on EN24.. Which TBH.. is never difficult to achieve..
Regardless of whether CCP acknowledges it or not, a RL monetary value can be placed on EVE goods.
Stealing somebody's titan can be seen as denying them access to some virtual goods with RL monetary value.
Depending on the particularities of local law, there could be a case against somebody doing this, especially if it was done by hacking.
This is the important point a lot of EvE players are missing, including "PL grunt".
Stealing accounts is not a EULA violation. Its a violation of the law and punishable by it. CCP has no say in the matter.
You need to understand some very key differences
- stealing a POS password = completely fine and part of the game.
- stealing an account password not fine at all and breaking the law.
- The damage done by stealing the account password can be measured in real isk and this can be calculated as the value of a car.
-The law of ay country could quite easily jail the person who stole the account password if this is what actually happened. This may not be what happened and it may have been the person who already had access to the account which means nothing wrong was done. But if the acc password was obtained illegally then someone may find himself in jail.
So here is my question (assuming no hacking) : Are all of you going to put up with these snitches running to the police and possibly setting a bad precedent for this game? Street justice time, slaughter Coven and let other would be tattletales know the consequences.
We wardec coven in retalition for breaking our RMT business
First time i ever agree with a PL guy.
It as really the responsability of the alliance to lock down the pos. Allowing anyone to enter the pos with supers is asking for trouble. They get what they deserve. Its a tought way to learn thought! It is really easy to just create a corp put it in the alliance with very few trusted characters in it having access to it. Once you start publishing your password or sending them by mail or allowing others outside the corp having access, its just asking for trouble and been EVE the way EVE is, everybody has an agenda/grudge.
It's up to CCP whether or not this constitutes as theft, because CCP is the owner of the ships. Us players are just using the game materials that CCP allows us to use. In reality all of the "property" inside of the game belongs to CCP. I don't think CCP will want to prosecute this unless the players were hacking into other player's accounts. If access was granted freely I think that someone learned a very expensive mistake. NEVER share your password with ANYONE i dont care how well you know them.
I have a solution. Perma ban every single account involved in the account sharing, temp ban every other coven member and disband the coven alliance.
win win win
They will failscade without ccp help anyway
The correct and simple solution would actually be the banning of all accounts that where involved with the account sharing verified by CCP and IP addresses. They all broke the EULA no matter if they where from or what their role.
upss…….it would be after the PL and TEST XDDDDDDDD
Umm, there must be a hundred thousand players who play on their laptop from hotels all around the world. Just logging on from different locations isn't enough: You need a bit smarter algorithms.
So if CCP ever shuts down eve, can we as players join together in a massive lawsuit against the company? And you also have to understand the difference between stealing a ship left in a corp accessible area, and logging onto an account that doesn't belong to you and stealing the assets/.
There was no theft because CCP, the current and lawful owners of all in-game items, are still in possession of them.
IT'S A FUCKING COMPUTER GAME!!!!!!! WHO THE FUCK CARES!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Ask all that CFC and HBC botters and RMT guys. They earns a lot of $$$ here selling ISKis
What's funny about this whole incident is the amount of tearz being spilled over somthing that was clearly their own fault, you dont want your shit stolen then dont give anyone the chance to be able to do it simple as that, the moment they complained to CCP they would have looked into it and if they havnt got their stuff back then they are not going to.
Hmmm… raises some interesting questions.
In the future, will the UN intervene in a War Dec?
Was that suicide gank against the Geneva Convention?
Next time ill cal police if someone shoots my ibis.
Its simple: CCP and EULA: CCP allows you to scam and steal with all the tool avaiable in the game. But account sharing isnt allowed. The only thing that the former Titan owner can expect is a ban because of account sharing.
In reallife: You give your friend the keys of your car, but he is for sure not allowed to destroy or sell it. If he does he will feel some RL justice.
The only question in RL is… Who is the owner of a Titan? CCP and EULA say that CCP is the owner and not the player. In this case the theft has to fear nothing.
But EULA is EULA, if a judge in Poland decides because of certain circumstances not CCP is the owner and gives a fuck about their EULA…. Oh well that could be interesting
If some Dumb Judge in Poland declares that CCP isnt the owner of the Virtual items.. ccp can always virtually give items back to whatever accounts.. then ban accounts unless CCP/Iceland receives the Taxes on the Virtual currency value of 600billion isk.. See how they like that one
Thats how it works. CCP can do whatever it wants in EVE (ban, give Titan back, or w.e.), but CCP like you said has no control about a judge.
The judge can simple decide that its CCP problem and bad luck for account sharing or in the other hand he can handle this like "I gave my car keys to my friend and he stoled/sold my car without permission", that would be interesting at least
just my 2 cents
Regardless of what is and isn't theft, this is not illegal because legally CCP owns the game and everything in it. Before this happened, CCP owned the stuff. After this happened, CCP still owns the theft. Legally no theft has occured.
No matter what the EULA has to say, hacking a account is always a punishable offence. But yeah, there was no theft involve. Does not change that if they catch you, you end in jail in most countries of the world.
It's very simple…
Stealing in game is fine and part of the the game.
Hacking to get access to the account or stealing the account log in details is illegal and punishable by law.
Whether you like it or not, these are the facts.
coven you are being ridiculous , the moment account sharing was involved everyone stopped caring (including ccp and the courts) . unless you can 100% prove that (X) person hacked the account, its a matter of he said she said.
You Cannot steal something that doesnt exist…. And in this case as per rules of Game created by CCP, You as a Player do not own the items.CCP does.. Furthermore.. it is illegal to sell in game currency for real life money. Simply doing so gets you a perma ban.. so simply put to drop this out of the courts CCP can simply deposit the 600Billion isk to a Corpmember.. thehn ban the account reaquire all isk VIRTUALLY and the POLISH like in WW2 Accomplish nothing.. Have a nice day
Stupidity can be costly….
i know for 99% that the police will not be able to do anything to the spaceship thief but if c0ven really went to the police and tries to get that guy into prison or something like that, the whole eve community should wipe them of the sov.map, those little idiots
if you can´t look after your stuff, you dont deserve it!
LOL poor argument – go to college
Dude…. C0ven already lost the whole SOV Months ago. Just sayin
Riv , what is the record of comments on your site? , I lobe this drama lama….
Indeed. And I was the one who asked EvE news to post this article. I'm pretty dam pleased with myself right now (-:
hehe lol
The philosophical study of value, henceforth known as Axiology, the study of aesthetics, is of hot debate concerning virtual economies. Every EveOnline player that takes this game seriously, one that sees real value in virtual items, ought to be up to speed on the subject, and he or she should be willing to defend or argue a position. The entire business plan of CCP will stand or fall based on the premises put forth by their respective national legal systems in the near future.
Interesting:
Why is this Polish Faggot Media not reporting about the shared Accounts?
Thats whats left of once good game – rmt.
Stop people. Just, stop.
If the account was obtained through hacking, CCP would then step into to ban the account in question and re-imburse those who had property stolen from them. Considering that trading any in-game items for real life currency is against the EULA then banning the hacked account will still solve all the problems even if the original hacker is no longer using that account. If someone was stupid enough to buy an account with real life money than that's their fault.
These are digital goods that can be created out of thin air. If CCP decided there was foul play involved it's a simple matter of writing a few commands into their console and recreating these digital goods in the hands of the victims.
Someone in EVE blew up my mining ship. Can I call the police?
That sounds like a serious offence, my friend.
Yea pretty sure if someone hacks your account and takes anything be it information, or whatever, you can sue the balls out of them.
I know how to fixe this… everyone blue eachother.. oh too late.
news flash polish gangs now no longer sell drugs or steal cars the latest deadly crime is stealing internet spaceships
CCP agreed to reimburse c0ven titans if we withdraw from taking any legal action against other EVE players or CCP itself.
Cheers
is thas so? – if it it is true many players may just stop play eve because all this situation is some sort of joke.
all directors and their alts from coven should be banned
is it a joke?
It was a joke
but i read today C0ven ceo statement and I ws right 
CCP gave them back 3 of 4 titans and compensate ISK for 4th
and thats why all polish people should be banned from any game. they cant take beatings, if not in their favour they cheat either ingame or in RL.
realy GTFO of my country
lol i sense underachieving basement dweller
I got nothing against poles but the drama is hilarious, what next they will sue for killing their ratters ?
PL -> GTFO