Court Seizes Computer of Developer Who Says He 'Likes Hacking'

Involved in an intellectual property dispute with former lawyer

A federal court has ruled that a software developer's computer be seized and copied after he described himself as a hacker on his website. In an order published last week, the US District Court for Idaho ruled that the computer of developer Corey Thuen be confiscated in connection with an intellectual property dispute with his former employer. The court ordered the seizure of the computer without first informing Thuen, saying his background as a "hacker" made it likely that he would delete evidence. Southfork's website read in part: "We like hacking things and we don't want to stop."

The case, Battelle Energy Alliance v. Southfork Security, centers around software created by both entities for the purpose of preventing cyber attacks on the nation's infrastructure. Thuen, a former Battelle employee, left the company to start his own. Battelle alleges that he copied the company's software before he left with the intention of turning it into an open-source project, and it is suing to prevent him from releasing the code.