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-   -   AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT (http://archives1.twoplustwo.com/showthread.php?t=527797)

adanthar 10-21-2007 01:17 PM

AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
Please find initial AP Statement for open release from Jo Norton the former Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and the owner of Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker.



[ QUOTE ]
October 21, 2007

Dear AP Player:

I am the former Grand Chief of the Mohawk Territory of Kahnawake and the owner of Tokwiro Enterprises ENRG, which holds a 100% interest in Absolute Poker.

As many of our players are aware, there has been a security breach in our system that allowed unlawful access to player information that resulted in unfair play. I am writing to you today to let you know what we know so far in order to set the record straight, and to assure you of AP’s commitment to player security. I am sure that this letter will not address all of the questions and concerns you may have, nor will it extinguish the heated discussion surrounding this issue. At this point, our intention is to let you know all we can disclose and to assure you of our continued efforts to keep you informed as best we can as the investigations continue.

We deeply regret this situation has occurred. A breach in security in online poker is serious and of great concern to players and the industry worldwide, and this particular situation has been the subject of debate within the poker player community and in the media, giving rise to the creation of several websites and hundreds and hundreds of comments, opinions, and theories of what occurred – some of which are accurate, and some that are not.

Like you, I have not been happy that during the initial stage of our investigation, AP has not been more forthcoming in providing a timely or comprehensive explanation on this matter, giving rise to anger, suspicion, and concern on the part of our valued customers. I hope that our customers can appreciate that this remains an incredibly complex and sensitive issue, and I want to give you my strongest possible assurance that we will be as forthcoming as possible on how this breach occurred and what we are doing to remedy the situation.

What We Know and Actions We Have Taken

AP was notified by a customer that a possible cheating incident occurred during a recent tournament, and in response forwarded players’ hand logs. This disclosure of the hand logs prompted our customers to determine that a more serious security breach had occurred. We immediately launched an internal investigation and also requested a formal audit by Gaming Associates, an acknowledged world-wide expert in audits, interactive gaming tests, and information security.

Based upon our preliminary findings, it appears that the integrity of our poker system was compromised by a high-ranking trusted consultant employed by AP whose position gave him extraordinary access to certain security systems. As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge. As this consultant was aware of the details of our fraud detection process, the likelihood that the scheme would be uncovered through our normal procedures was minimized. We consider this security breach to be a horrendous and inexcusable offense.

We will pay for all losses suffered by the affected players as soon as our audit is finished and the amounts are determined. Although we are in the process of attempting to recover all the winnings of this consultant, any unrecovered losses of affected players will be paid by Absolute Poker so that all affected persons will be made whole.

Next Steps

We are still investigating whether the consultant was acting alone or in concert with others, and it appears at this time that all account holders are innocent of collusion and were unaware of any wrong-doing by the consultant, who was immediately terminated. We continue to investigate this matter aggressively, and all of these preliminary findings are subject to the audits currently underway. We have recently uncovered additional accounts used by the consultant that have not been publicly reported. So as to not compromise the investigation, we are not releasing the names of these additional accounts at this time, and will contact these affected customers individually.

The specific allegations of unlawful activity are being investigated both by AP and by the authorized authorities, including the Kahnawake Gaming Commission. We will continue to actively cooperate with these authorities in full compliance with the Regulations Concerning Interactive Gaming. In addition to our own investigation and the audit by Gaming Associates, we have also submitted to an audit by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

Please be assured that we have corrected the problem that allowed the system to be unfairly manipulated. We are working furiously to increase the safeguards within our systems. While we are satisfied that our systems are secured, we realize that our security systems must be continuously monitored and enhanced.

Without question, this incident has been unfortunate for all concerned, and we will emerge as a stronger company. I realize it will take some time and much more information for AP to re-earn the trust and confidence of our customers who are in doubt of our commitment to the highest levels of security, privacy and integrity. As we move to address and correct this situation, our valued customers have played a vital role in uncovering this scheme through various online forums and have become an active part of the solution.

With my full sincerity, I thank you, and I promise to keep you updated as we bring this situation to a close.

Sincerely,

Joe Norton

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

GrandMelon 10-21-2007 01:18 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
first

also [censored] AP

Ganjasaurus Rex 10-21-2007 01:20 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
wrong-doing by the consultant, who was immediately terminated.

[/ QUOTE ]
Bullet to the back of the head?

Adjutor 10-21-2007 01:21 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
About time.

Paul Levy 10-21-2007 01:21 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
So good old Scott is an innocent victim of account/identity theft?

smellmuth 10-21-2007 01:21 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
"we'd like to let everyone know there was cheating"

NO WAI RLY?

nole91 10-21-2007 01:21 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
Bring back the wedding pics. Only thing that seems to get them closer to the truth.

What happened to 2 higher ups being involved?

I call [censored].

PNXRMX 10-21-2007 01:22 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
so their statement is that the software allowed admins to access people's pcs? so it's a completely different story again now? :S

edit: nvm, misinterpreted something

jman220 10-21-2007 01:22 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
So AP is still not telling us anything we don't already know, and hasn't yet admitted that it was Scott Tom.

teddyFBI 10-21-2007 01:22 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

thirteen 10-21-2007 01:23 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

mother_brain 10-21-2007 01:24 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
Wow.

They no longer care what we think or do.

This press release is a slap to the face.

shaundeeb 10-21-2007 01:24 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
joke statement.

Phil153 10-21-2007 01:25 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
In addition to our own investigation and the audit by Gaming Associates, we have also submitted to an audit by the Kahnawake Gaming Commission.

[/ QUOTE ]
Translation: "In addition to our own investigation, we have also submitted to be audited by ourselves"

Pokeraddict 10-21-2007 01:25 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
We waited this long for this? This tells us nothing new.

KurtSF 10-21-2007 01:25 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
Oh, its the same BS rogue employee story except now he's only a consultant and its being told by Joe Norton instead of a nameless PR flack.

[cenosred] AP.

Cruzincat 10-21-2007 01:26 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
I don't see what is new here, except that Joe Norton acknowledges 100% ownership.

TonyRoflmao 10-21-2007 01:27 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

PartyGirlUK 10-21-2007 01:27 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

1p0kerboy 10-21-2007 01:27 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

adanthar 10-21-2007 01:27 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
All,

This statement and what I was told is actually happening behind the scenes differs in several important respects.

Since I'm sincerely not interested in doing any more work on AP's behalf, however, what I'm going to do today is go play tournaments (which is, like, how I make money) and stop caring about what they did or didn't say.

I expect several thousand replies by the time I get back.

gobbomom 10-21-2007 01:28 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
you've gotta be p'd Serge. Ready to let it rip yet?

augie_ 10-21-2007 01:28 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

helemaalnicks 10-21-2007 01:28 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
also no statement on the fact that they shut down their own forum, and that they ignore this on their own website, nice.

KurtSF 10-21-2007 01:28 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
THIS IS NOW A PR WAR.

AP WILL NEVER GIVE US ANYTHING.

ITS TIME TO TAKE WHAT WE KNOW TO THE PRESS AND EXPOSE AP AS THE LIARS AND CHEATS THEY ARE.

PNXRMX 10-21-2007 01:28 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't see what is new here, except that Joe Norton acknowledges 100% ownership.

[/ QUOTE ]
Well, they've admitted there are more accounts involved than we thought:
"We have recently uncovered additional accounts used by the consultant that have not been publicly reported. So as to not compromise the investigation, we are not releasing the names of these additional accounts at this time, and will contact these affected customers individually."

ebepse 10-21-2007 01:29 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
ground level

[ QUOTE ]
We immediately launched an internal investigation and also requested a formal audit by Gaming Associates, an acknowledged world-wide expert in audits, interactive gaming tests, and information security.

[/ QUOTE ]

TonyRoflmao 10-21-2007 01:29 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
I don't see what is new here, except that Joe Norton acknowledges 100% ownership.

[/ QUOTE ]

This is misleading. Tokwiro owns Absolute Poker the website. The money goes to Absolute Entertainment which along with Ultimate Bet is owned by Blast Off Ltd in Malta.

Follow the money:
http://www.ultimatebet.com/banking/d...hod/bank-wire/

Cruzincat 10-21-2007 01:29 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
also no statement on the fact that they shut down their own forum, and that they ignore this on their own website, nice.

[/ QUOTE ]
They did not shut it down. They did change some things around that makes it harder to use, though.

teddyFBI 10-21-2007 01:30 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
Listen, I used to work in investigations for the biggest stock exchange in the world, and when we caught insiders acting improperly, we didn't *only* suspend them (or in some cases bar them from the industry for life.) We followed up with law enforcement as appropriate to make sure that not only did they lose their privilege to act as brokers, but when their actions were criminal, they faced the full weight of our judicial system. That's what you need to do here. Don't tell us there wasn't criminal activity here, be it reckless or merely negligent. I don't care whether you want to look at American, Costa Rican, or Panamanian laws -- they were broken. Get the criminal justice system involved here (although I suspect that the length of time it took to release your "official" statement is due to your lawyers painstakingly ensuring that no part of it admits to anything actually *criminal* or otherwise actionable.) I personally worked on the cases of quite a few brokers who were out-and-out crooks, basically pocketing monies that were given to them by clients to invest for them or needlessly churning to create excessive commissions -- this analogy really isn't all that that inapplicable to Scott Tom's alleged power trip. And the punishments weren't merely administrative, they were *criminal*. Show us how serious you *really* are about this by getting law enforcement involved. Or are you worried that such action would require a level of discovery that you're worried would uncover something you hoped would stay hidden?

emmpee 10-21-2007 01:30 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
What a [censored] load. This statement is a giant slap in the face from AP.

1p0kerboy 10-21-2007 01:30 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]

ITS TIME TO TAKE WHAT WE KNOW TO THE PRESS AND EXPOSE AP AS THE LIARS AND CHEATS THEY ARE.

[/ QUOTE ]

Aye. They had their chance.

We need a permanent boycott of AP by all players and affiliates at this point.

JacKnight21 10-21-2007 01:30 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
I'm sorry but the only solution seems the be the end of absolute as a viable entity. Either we break them and send a message to the poker community or they win by staying open.

Elusive1 10-21-2007 01:31 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

[/ QUOTE ]

i have been glued to my computer for 3 days for this????

ReptileHouse 10-21-2007 01:32 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
<font color="brown">This statement says nothing </font>

[/ QUOTE ]

ur2barredout 10-21-2007 01:32 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
F Joe Norton

Rooger 10-21-2007 01:32 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
[ QUOTE ]
As has been speculated in several online forums, this consultant devised a sophisticated scheme to manipulate internal systems to access third-party computers and accounts to view hole cards of other customers during play without their knowledge.

[/ QUOTE ]

Are they trying to say that the rogue programmer, with absolutely no connection to the AP top ldo, could see the hole cards because he had access to the others players' computers, and thereby rejecting the superuser account?

sixfour 10-21-2007 01:32 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
Level?

egj 10-21-2007 01:33 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
This statement does not reiterate one of the more dubious claims in the MSNBC story: that this was done just to prove to senior management that it was possible, and not actually to steal any money.

Among lots of other things, I would like to see Absolute explicitly reaffirm that claim, or retract it. If it's B.S., whoever fed that B.S. to the MSNBC reporter should be terminated.

Cruzincat 10-21-2007 01:35 PM

Re: AP thread 872.6 - Statement ITT
 
If the statement is true that the superuser had access to hole cards FROM THE CLIENTS' COMPUTER, then that means we downloaded malware with the last AP upgrade! Time to remove all aspects of AP software?


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