By | John Oates 5th July 2005 09:03

Brit nicked for hacking Xbox

Cambridge grad convicted

A 22-year old British man has been convicted for modding an Xbox.

The Cambridge graduate was tracked down by an investigator for the trade body Electronic & Leisure Software Publishers Association (ELSPA).

Elspa tipped off Caerphilly trading standards and Gwent police. He was sentenced to 140 hours of community service at Caerphilly Magistrates court and must pay £750 in costs, according to the BBC.

He was modifying Xboxes and fitting them with 200GB hard drives containing up to 80 games. He was offering them for sale on his website for £380. The court also took his IT equipment including three PCs, three consoles and 38 hard drives.

He is the first man convicted of the offence, which became a crime last year.

Elspa said the sentence showed the seriousness of the offence. Deputy director general Michael Rawlinson told the Beeb: "The modification of consoles is an activity that Elspa's anti-piracy team is prioritising. It is encouraging to see the UK courts do the same."

Elspa was unavailable to comment on this story.®