The FBI said Cody Kretsinger used a proxy server in an attempt to hide his IP address, but its 2011 announcement did not name HideMyAss. Contemporaneous reporting connected the service to the case and said provider records helped investigators. The distinction matters: the FBI’s release described allegations, news reports supplied the HideMyAss-specific details, and the Department of Justice later reported Kretsinger’s sentence.
What the FBI alleged—and what it did not say
On September 22, 2011, the FBI announced the arrest of Cody Kretsinger, also known as “recursion,” in connection with an alleged intrusion into Sony Pictures’ computer systems. The FBI said the indictment alleged that Sony Pictures systems were compromised between May 27 and June 2, 2011, through an SQL injection attack. It also said the indictment alleged Kretsinger used a proxy server in an attempt to mask or hide an IP address.
The FBI’s release did not identify HideMyAss. It also cautioned: “An indictment merely contains allegations that a defendant has committed a crime.” Kretsinger was presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty at trial. The FBI’s September 22, 2011 announcement is the source for the arrest, alleged conduct, and legal caveat.
How HideMyAss entered the account
The provider-specific details came from contemporaneous news reports, not the FBI announcement. WIRED reported that the indictment described a VPN account registered at hidemyass.com on May 23, 2011, under the handle “recursion.” That is WIRED’s account of what the indictment said; the FBI release itself did not name the service. WIRED’s September 22 report connects those details.
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Dark Reading reported on September 27 that HideMyAss turned over information that led to Kretsinger’s arrest. The Guardian reported the service said it retained logs to address abuse and maintain contracts with upstream server providers. In the Guardian’s September 26 report, HideMyAss explained: “Being able to locate abusive users is imperative for the survival of operating a VPN service, if you can not take action to prevent abuse you risk losing server contracts with the underlying upstream providers that empower your network.” This was the company’s rationale as reported at the time, not an independent audit of its systems or records.
- Dark Reading’s report described information being turned over to investigators.
- The Guardian’s report quoted the service on its stated operational rationale for retaining logs.
Why using a proxy or VPN did not guarantee anonymity
A proxy or VPN can make a destination see the intermediary’s IP address rather than the user’s ordinary public IP address. That does not mean the intermediary has no records that could help identify an account or connect activity to a user. In this case, the reported account registration and provider information illustrate the difference between hiding an address from a destination and being untraceable to the service carrying the traffic.
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The reporting does not establish every technical detail of the investigation, exactly which records were supplied, or the complete sequence by which investigators identified Kretsinger. It supports the narrower point that provider-held information and legal investigation can matter even when someone uses a proxy or VPN.
What happened after the arrest
The story later moved beyond the “suspect” framing. In 2013, the U.S. Department of Justice reported that Kretsinger was sentenced to one year and one day in federal prison for the 2011 Sony Pictures intrusion. The DOJ sentencing announcement records that later outcome.
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What this 2011 case can—and cannot—tell you
This case is historical evidence about events and reporting from 2011. It does not establish HideMyAss’s current logging policy, ownership, product configuration, or privacy commitments, nor does it establish the present-day practices of other VPN providers. A VPN may change its systems and policies over time; a single past case cannot answer what a service retains today or how it would respond to a legal demand now.
The useful lesson is limited but important: routing traffic through a proxy or VPN is not the same as eliminating every trace of an account or activity. To assess a service today, consult its current policy and independent, dated evidence about its present practices rather than treating this case as a current review.
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