Cheet-Sheets.com Owner Pleads Guilty; May Face Jail Time
8/27/2002 -- Oregon resident Robert R. Keppel, owner of the now-defunct braindump Web sites Cheet-Sheets.com and CheetSheets.com, pleaded guilty in federal court Friday to a charge of theft of trade secrets, in violation of Title 18, United States Code, Section 1832(a)(2).
The charge resulted from allegations made by Microsoft that Keppel was selling questions and answers to Microsoft certification exams.
When he's sentenced on November 1, Keppel faces up to 10 years in prison and $250,000 in fines. He also forfeited a Lexus RX300, a 1997 Ferrari Spider and $56,000 in cash as part of a plea agreement. CertCities.com attempted to reach both Keppel and his attorney for comment, but did not receive a response before this story was posted online.
Assistant United States Attorney Annette Hayes, who prosecuted the case, said this is first application of the theft of trade secrets statute to procure a conviction within the realm of IT certification testing. In June, police in Bexar County, Texas seized the assets of TestKiller LTD and its owners citing the same felony charge, but criminal charges have not been filed in that case.
Previously, most "braindump" cases were pursued in civil court, citing copyright and trademark violations. "The [theft of trade secrets] statute is not that old... which is probably why there hasn't been many [criminal cases of this type]. But there's nothing unique about this case," said Hayes. "We picked this statute because it was the one that applied."
According to Microsoft, the case began when the company received allegations from customers that the content of Keen's CheetSheets contained live exam items. Microsoft made a criminal complaint to the Federal Bureau of Investigations during the summer of 2001, which turned the investigation over to its Computer Crimes Division.
In Sept. 2001, the FBI's Computer Crimes Division issued search warrants and seized the cash and cars listed above, as well as papers and other evidence. According to the government, this evidence showed that Keppel began selling the questions some time in 1999. He began buying exam questions from a source in Pakistan in January 2001, which he then incorporated into his test materials. (The government declined CertCities.com's request for the name of the Pakistan source.) Records from a NOVA credit card merchant account, opened by Keppel in July 2000, show that the business earned at least $753,633.03 while that account was active, the government said.
Hayes said that criminal charges were never filed in this case. When her office was given the case in late 2001, they initiated contact with Keppel, and eventually negotiated the guilty plea through Keppel's attorney. The government then filed a Statement of Information with the court on August 8, paving the way for Keppel to enter his plea on Friday.
Hayes told CertCities.com that her office will make sentencing recommendations in late October. According to Hayes, Keppel is currently out on "pre-trial" release.
"I think it's important to note that the government is pursuing these types of cases and we will continue to do so," said Hayes.
Word of the plea spread over the weekend after the Seattle Post-Intelligencer published a short news story online.
"I was ecstatic when I heard the news," said Craig Callaway, president of Self Test Software. "Yes, it's good for [test question] vendors like us, but this is really about the industry as a whole. There's got to be a concerted effort to protect the integrity of certification."
"[This plea] will raise awareness of this problem," said Robert Pedigo, executive director of the Information Technology Certification Security Council, an industry organization that works to preserve the integrity of IT certification exams. "It is probably fair to take this as a shot across the bow of anyone who is attempting to cheat."
Pedigo said that certification vendors are working on improving exam security through a variety of means, including tighter nondisclosure agreements, greater scrutiny of testing centers and legal action, but they are also looking to the certified community for help. "This is an active concern that every single person who holds a certificate should bear in mind. By becoming certified, one is a member of a professional group. And it's important that one defend the integrity of that group."
The owner of one braindump site who wished to remain anonymous told CertCities.com that the plea was not that big a concern. Unlike CheetSheets.com, which commercially packaged live exam items, the source explained that most braindump sites are free collections of thousands of questions submitted by end users. "There's a big difference between looking at 150 screenshots [of actual] questions and poring through a thousand questions -- you can't memorize a thousand questions," the source said. "I think the certification programs realize this."
Even so, the source added that this case may influence his/her site: "I'm thinking of moving away from actual questions and more toward study guides."  - B.N.
|
Post your comment below, or better yet, go to our Discussion Forums and really post your mind.
|
|
Current  user Comments for "Cheet-Sheets.com Owner Pleads Guilty; May Face Jail Time"
|
| 8/27/02 - Anonymous says: |
Hey, how do you think somebody goes to a '5 day boot camp' and walks out with MCSE? I knew a guy who did that, and his company even paid for it. There is no way he did this unless he was taught the test. I took 168 hrs of classroom on both NT and 2K, work with it every day, and still these tests have been ridiculous. They build in mis-direction and they word questions in ways worthy of a team of lawyers. I can't say that braindumps are any more noble, but I believe the operator hits upon one of the problems with the current cert exams: the question pool is much too small. Any test prep, be it Exam Cram or one of the on-line practice exams is the same in purpose: they 'prepare' you for a test in the flavor of Microsoft by giving you information 'close' to the actual tests. Transcender gets a wink and a nod, all the while their software has this "get an edge" cache about it. And that's exactly what it is: a chance to cut a corner or two. We all know that Transcender's NTWS and Server products were so close to the question pool that and numbskull could pound it for a week or two and pass. I think they were on the right track with the IIS 4 exam which was a replica console and you had to perform certain operations in the proper order. it very close to real world situations - but none of the W2K tests has it. Isn't that what our employers want - someone who can operate the software in the best way possible? I don't know about you guys, but I've never been asked to plan a multi-domain network, but I am expected to know how to build a server and put it back on the network. |
| 8/27/02 - Person Man from Utah says: |
I am also of the opinion too little too late. Microsoft certs at this point are next to worthless and it will take a long time and a lot of effort to get them back to a meaninful status. Unfortunately, I think now that people and training companies realize that, they are now targeting other certifications like the CCNA. It seems like a vicous cycle: a certification nets you a better salary; training companies flood the industry with that certification; the certification becomes worthless. I feel the CCNA is already going that direction and I'm sure more will follow. |
| 8/27/02 - MCSE/MCDBA/MCT So What says: |
This ridiculous. Everyone is arguing over nonsense. Here's some advise! Get yours while you can and use the market for your own profit while you can. This is whats it's all about people. And if you can really do the job like you tested then you'll possibly make a few more $$, but if your an accountant for 10 years and then get MCSE do you really think you'll have a shot at making more money with the MCSE immediately? Maybe...but it's all a crap shoot anyway people. All this about how valid a CERT is. I've been in IT for 10 years and have worked with several knucklehead "BS Of Science" or "4 Year Wonders" grads who at best built a few servers and created a few accounts in thier college dorm room smokin weed, land jobs at 80k because of the degree, but wouldn't know squat about the 200+ server farm I've worked on. Society is built around College Educations...PERIOD. Certifications & hands on experience also count. But just a Cert that you memorized your ass off in one way or another? I dont think so. But more power to ya...I hope you can take care of your family with it during these times of NO JOBS, FAILING STOCK MARKET, and INCREASED COST OF LIVING. Take take take til the ya can't take anymore. Now I'm going for CCNA until the same thing happens all over again. Or maybe I'll get into selling Real Estate..I heard that test is easy too! LOL LOL LOL!!! |
| 8/27/02 - Anonymous says: |
Just to defend Transcender. They are actually very legal. Unlike Braindumps who steal, Transcenders hire writers to write "Microsoft Type" questions. They are not the same questions exactly, but any writer who is really familiar with MS type questions can write their own questions that appear very similar. No, I do not work for Transcender and I haven't even used them as I prefer hands-on experience to memorization, but I thought I would let people know that I have investigated them fully and they are very legal. |
| 8/27/02 - OSI big dog from kansas says: |
I am MCSE(2000), MCSA, A, CCNA. Working towards an MCDBA since the knuckleheads can't seem to memorize Transact SQL code, and they don't want to... LOL. The CCNA (640-607)exam isn't as hard as everyone makes it out to be, even with the simulations on it. Maybe that is because I had over a year working with the product first??? IF you have studied hands on with the product you are testing on, you won't have problems with any certification exams. That's how they all should be. Decertifying the folks that used the brain dumps would be a good thing, unless those people ordered them unwittingly. I have a friend who ordered a troytec guide, and got it after he had already taken the exam! Ordered it the day before the test thinking he could download it on the spot. Friends from school told him it was a great study guide... Reported it to Microsoft after he looked it over and realized what was really going on. People like that don't need decertified for being duped into unscrupulous vendors traps... Most IT guys with some skills run circles around the guys with degree in Computer Information Sciences because they actually use modern skills on the job and not some outdated COBOL crap and 35 hours of math.... Good luck on your career, make the right decisions.... |
| 8/27/02 - Anonymous says: |
I am glad to see these braindump sites getting shutdown but does anyone think 10 years would be a bit harse. Maybe 2 years and a big fine. |
| 8/27/02 - Anonymous from New York City says: |
What distinguishes a cheat sheet from a valid study guide? The word-for-word duplication of exam questions (copyright), the dissemination of trade secrets or the violating of an express agreement between parties not to disclose test questions or solutions? I have purchased study guides including popular test software such as Transcender to prepare for tests. Several of these are of sufficient quality to point out deficiencies and suggest reading materials to assist in the learning process. Who is next? Do I have to worry that since I’ve purchased Transcender tests, Exam Prep, Learnkey training videos and Testking study guides, that I’m going to lose my certifications? My employer and I have paid thousands for in-house and in-class Microsoft CTEC training, Cisco, Sun Solaris, and Novell pursuing MCSE, CNE, CCNP, CCIE and Solaris certifications. Should anyone have to worry that they’ll lose their certification if they bought something other than Microsoft Press, Cisco Press or vendor approved study guides? All you have to do is have a support contract with Microsoft and suddenly technical solutions to Microsoft software bugs and security holes are trade secrets you agree not to publicly disclose. That reminds me…must shred and burn those knowledgebase documents piled high on my desk before they fall into some cyber-terrorists hands or disclose some trade secret. Vendor certifications have created a large market for publishers and training centers as well as unscrupulous cheat sheet publishers. Just look at the prices of vendor authorized materials: According to one CTEC, Checkpoint charges 400 dollars for their approved NG study guide, Citrix supposedly charges about the same, I’ve been quoted between 200 and 250 for Microsoft Official Curriculum materials. At least Solaris was just 75 dollars for their Solaris guides. One Novell authorized center wanted me to pay 400 for an IntraNetware 4.11 to Netware 5.x guide. As well, consider what we are paying for tests, 125 for Microsoft, 150 for Cisco, and 150 dollars for Solaris tests. It is bad enough that Microsoft wastes our time forcing us to take marketing surveys before tests. They should come to the realization that most people give random answers to the marketing questions so that they can get to the test without getting more anxious. If Microsoft complied my survey answers they would come to the erroneous conclusion that I was a transgender-CTO with more than a million employees. Now we have to add to the test taking anxiety the notion that the folks at Redmond will be obtaining customer lists from publishers and book vendors, and de-certify some people, in order to make it appear that they are adding value to their certifications. It may sound ridiculous, but look at how often the public has found out that Microsoft was “accidentally” surreptitiously gathering and analyzing information from peoples’ computers. They’ll never get the cheat sheets and brain dumps under control, but they sure will create a lot of press and marketing data from their efforts. Test software and study guide prices will soar to cover the expected legal costs. The only winners will be the lawyers collecting legal fees. |
| 8/27/02 - 2002AD from Canada says: |
The time has come for all of us to reflect on how we go forward as an industry of professionals. If we are to be truly respected in the marketplace, by decision-makers and peers alike we need to divorce ourselves from this need to vendor-certify-- instead, we need to industry-certify like our peers in Engineering, Architecture, Accounting, Law, Medicine, etc. Let's claim Informaticians (or "Informatics") as a profession unto ourselves, with varied subgroupings for developers (desktop, web, mobile), administrators (networks, databases, servers) as well as (possibly) managers (at least one techincal area, plus project/people management). Let's create designations recognized not only by subgroupings, but also by education: higher levels for higher learning-- this will reinforce the importance of tertiary education, encouraging more people to pursue Masters and PhDs. Computing Societies are a great idea, but we need to further the point by ratifying industry-level designations. Vendor certs could become an optional foot in the door, as an additional credit where a B.Sc or higher is missing from a given resume. An elected review panel could determine the wheat from the chaff through one or more industry-standardized (ANSI, ISO, etc.) examinations. The benefits of hands-on lab exams scream volumes here, and, in short order cheaters would be rooted out. We can learn a lesson from our peers in Engineering-- plenty of B.Eng students cheating their way through university find themselves rudely awaken when faced with earning their P.Eng designation. We should be no different. If government, educational institutions and private enterprise join forces, we could effectively limit vendor-cert penetration. In this case, everyone wins: businesses & government will tend to experience far more qualified applicants for work, and can establish their own guidelines for pay-scales according to a given designation & level. The educational sector can benefit from an influx of applications. Vendor certifications, cheats and the like, will give way to true professionals, the Informatics. IT Professionals must seriously consider feasible, solid alternatives to vendor certifications, if we are to maintain any dignity in the media, and more importantly, in the workplace. Values such as dilligence, honesty & professionalism can be the hallmarks of our trade, if we open our minds to challenges far greater than easily-cheated vendor certifications. (P.Eng = Professional Engineering license in Ontario, Canada) |
| 8/28/02 - Jason Sprague from Portland, OR says: |
Most of the anger towards MS in here is the result of a very important misunderstanding. The MCSE was never designed to help you get your first job or replace a college degree. As is stated on Microsoft's web site: "The Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) credential is the premier certification for professionals who analyze the business requirements and design and implement the infrastructure for business solutions". Does that sound like the job description of a helpdesk employee??? Too many people try to use certs as a shortcut to a better career, but it just doesn't work that way. Tests too expensive? Don't take them. If the questions don't apply to "your real world", then the cert probably isn't for you. The questions are too tricky? Tough! It is Microsoft's cert program and they can do what they wish with it. Nobody has a gun to your head and if you don't like the certification program, why bother. I can't get a job so I need the certs? Judging from some of the posts, all of the certs in the world won't help you. Some of the people that posted are obviously unethical, immoral, lazy, illogical, whiney, have an attitude problem, suffer from "silver spoon" syndrome, etc... That is the reason that you can't get a job.. The Trade Piracy law is stupid? Why don't you create something and then I will steal it and make $750,000 in 2 years off of your work and then let's see how you feel then. Who cares if they are stealing from a large corporation like MS? It is the same crime! These criminals have become without working very hard and I don't understand why that wouldn't piss off those of you that have worked hard. Personally, I think 10 years is a pretty light sentence for these people, mainly because they knowingly repeated the same crime everyday that they woke up and went to work. As for the products themselves, their certainly is a grey area where it is hard to tell if the company is violating any laws. Cheetsheets is a no brainer and there are dozens of others that fall way outside the gray area. MS is not going to decertify those that purchased these materials, but as an individual you should do everything that you can to avoid supporting criminals. If you want to continue justifying the activities of these companies, maybe you should have your mother read these posts and see what she thinks before you post :) |
| 8/28/02 - Anonymous from Morroco says: |
They should just let this braindump stuff be as far as I am concerned. What difference will it make anyway stopping dumps. In the first place,the man did not hide himself or did anything under cover fro day one. Microsoft should device a more clever means for setting thier questions. THAT ALL!! |
| 8/28/02 - Mike Johnson,MCP from PH,Nigeria says: |
They should just let this braindump stuff be as far as I am concerned. What difference will it make anyway stopping dumps. In the first place,the man did not hide himself or did anything under cover from day one. Microsoft should device a more clever means for setting thier questions. THAT ALL!! |
| 8/28/02 - Garry from UK says: |
I worked my butt off for my MCSE NT with no braindumps I have a good job and 7 years experience and a divorce because I was always studying.I haven't sat 2000 exams because my company uses NT. N,aturally I was upset when MSoft were pulling the plug all the exams are now towards enterprise not small companies with a dozen servers I will upgrade when we change I did a one year course with Cisco and am now a CCNA but I didn't need braindumps.I learnt and practiced I recently joined a couple of groups on yahoo and all they talk about is braindumps boring!!what about good old fashioned studying.It all looks pretty on paper but when it comes to the crunch all certs mean nothing without knowledge. Should Keppel be arrested for making a quid hmm.. maybe but that seems to be the American way. Everyone is after a short cut to the big $$ but only brain dead plebs use this type of material, I pity the IT industry, maybe this is why wages are coming down, the world has seen there are a lot of frauds and think we are not worth the money.If people need to cheat they will find a way why fight Microsoft? why not jump on the band wagon and make more $$££ I failed an exam but it made me more determined not to be beaten by MSoft or Cisco but to resort to cheating I think not. |
| 8/28/02 - T from Your Momma says: |
Hey gary from UK, shut your fat mouth. |
| 8/28/02 - Why bother trying from UK says: |
In the last 2 years I have seen fellow peers pass exams for programs that they haven't even used. Most of them haven't got jobs yet which does mean something at least. I have 2 of CompTIA's exams and found their exams to be more thorough and rewarding than MS. I have my MCSD but have put off studying for the full MCSE ( I have 2 credits thus far) due to the lack of recognition it holds. I admit to using braindumps for MS exams but I used hard work and real-life experience for the CompTIA exams and my knowledge is still holding up. If people want to cheat their way through, let them, but we all know which vendors produce the most relevant exams and it ain't MS! |
| 8/28/02 - annon says: |
ok sure selling this stuff is unethical and the people that disclosed the informations should be decertified , but the people who used them to study should'nt get bothered with it . as i see it , since i did fail two exams at a couple points close ,had to take them over and found myself in front of a totally different exam , this was in the early days of the W2k mcse cursus ( i got a early achiever card for this) , at the time there was no study material , books were'nt even published yet , i also had to take all design exams because there was no electives for the W2k family of products yet , at the time i found the question base was pretty large since i had to re-take the security design exam and found myself in front of a totally different exam . also i'd like to point out the fact that the complexity of the exam dropped dramatically after MS discovered they did'nt get half of the certs the envisionned , then they gave up on killing a cert that was 6 years old and refused to differenciate certified personel based on product. The net result is an extreme confusion in this certification , some got it hard , some got it easy , some pose as W2k experts when they have studied NT4 , this confusion is also very real in "MS approuved study material" some are so far from the actual exam that you could be reading gone with the wind or the bible to get the same result , some others are so close to the real exam that it is clearly a breach of contract (i've reviewed some material from a colleague a year aftfer i've cert and he received at a prometrics class among all he got the testkiller material straight from the teacher , but the teacher did point out to his class he was there to get them to pass the exam , not understand the material , now this is prometric , one of two microsoft approved test providers ...... am i still going to be able to take test at prometrics in a year ...... of course (grin)). of course this is all about money MS is suing the ones they dont get a dime from , if they really want to make a difference they should provide classes and material that is a) affordable for general public ( by that i mean a CTEC class at 2000$ is highway robbery) b) controlled material(and by that i mean close all the companies providing words to words cheats , including the ones present on the MS friends list like prometric or trancender) c) keep the difficulty to tecnical aspects , not reading skills or what a CEO think is best for his corporate network ( sorry but this is a technical job not a CEO ' s job) and finally make sure they have a broad enough question base that will be too long to memorise , and renew these question base regularly basis (i.e weeks not years). the first culprid in this story is the company that permits the cheating and proliferation of cheating sites , i defenetly dont believe this material is comming from people taking the exams ( how could you remember word to word questions answers and correct answer after taking an exam ...... seriously , this is an inside job either inside microsoft or a testing center ) , i am far from convinced that testing centers enforce the regulation equallly all over the world. sure there are a few that actually memorised this material , stayed in the exam 15 min because they correctly answered the heavilly weighted questions and got a paper cert , but there are also others that used this materail along with other material and still worked for their achievement. on another view since this kind of material is also available for cisco and other constructor i would look at the testing companies a little closer |
| 8/28/02 - MCSD, MCT from Poconos, PA says: |
I would like to make the following points: 1. Unless the tests have changed in the past year, I find them a moneysucking scheme to make people think you actually know something. Every test I have taken, I have found practically stupid and anal about things that have taken up less than 2% of my programming career. They don't test competence. They test how well you know Microsoft's Bible of Right and Wrong. 2. I would rather hire someone with a college education and a Computer Science degree instead of someone with 20 acronyms behind their name. 3. Most of the stupid stuff on these tests, you would look up in the real world anyway. So you can memorize books and make yourself feel good, big deal. I can teach a monkey to read and take tests too. 4. This whole certification process favors people who can take written multiple choice exams. Not everyone can do that very well. 5. A lot of the questions are contrived and a matter of opinion and not fact. I have taken several Microsoft exams and a few of them I've failed, but in those cases, I failed those exams because I didn't follow Microsoft's Philosophy of programming--does that make me wrong? NO. Programming is an art as much as it is a science. 6. I find it highly ironic that the biggest pirate in the United States is pissed that little people are doing nothing more than following their philosophy. It's funny how no one talks about the issues of our consumer right to privacy and the unethical ways Microsoft works. It's amazing to me how their big legal battle just fizzled out with them feeling no ill effects. Must be nice to be rich and beat us all over the head and steal from our pocketbooks with overpriced, substandard products that work correctly every second or third release. I have two certifications and they are worth as much to me as the garbage down in the backyard. They haven't improved my life at all. The certification process as a whole is a load of crap that just proves that some people can memorize computer trivia and take tests better than other people. In the real world, I have yet to see real meaning to it other than you get to write some letters behind your name. Most companies I know say oh and MCSE or ooh an MCSD and then test the hell out of you anyway. I find them to be more of an ego trip than anything else for most people. I have two of them and they don't mean shit to me. I have them because my boss asked me to get them. Has it changed my job? No. Did I get more money? NO. Big deal... |
| 8/28/02 - Greg from Chicago says: |
I don't see what Microsoft is so upset about. If they cared that much perhaps they should write new test questions more than once every two years. Besides, US Copyright Law applies to just that -- the United States. I can think of five or six websites off the top of my head hosted in other countries that post actual exam questions for a price. If Microsoft is truly serious about the skills of its professionals, then they should go the Cisco route, eliminate multiple choice exams and introduce monitored Lab based exams, where you are given a problem, and you have a set amount of time to identify the cause and fix it. Otherwise, there will be paper MCSEs forever. |
| 8/28/02 - Concerned English from Surrey says: |
Either you study hard for years or learn the answers to the questions. If you cheat you feel much more reward because you get lots of return for little investment and effort. I also enjoy stealing from single old ladies and changing price tags in shops. |
|
Display Page: 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08
|
|
|
