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Activision made serious attempts to hack into the email accounts of then Infinity Ward bosses Jason West and Vince Zampella, according to a deposition transcript obtained by Giant Bomb.
The internal Activision scheme which began in 2009 was called Project Icebreaker and set out to uncover secrets about the fired pair.
Activision’s chief legal officer George Rose is alleged to have given IT director Thomas Fenady the job of gaining access to Zampella and West’s email in order to “dig up dirt” on the pair. Fenady is now working at Warner Bros.
Fenady claims that Activision wanted “to get rid of them”. He was allegedly warned not to get caught, although Rose assured him that Activision CEO Bobby Kotick would take care of him so shouldn’t “worry about repercussions”.
Fenady revealed that Microsoft were reportedly asked to help hack the email, but refused to assist Activision unless a court order was produced. Security firm InGuardians also refused because of “legal hurdles”.
And perhaps most outrageous is Fenady’s testament that Activision contemplated staging a fire drill or fumigation in order to gain time at the computers of West and Zampella.
However, Fenady said he only knows it was discussed and doesn’t believe “it was acted upon”.
Rose denied instructing Fenady to “dig up dirt,” but confirmed Activision did make unsuccessful attempts to hack Zampella and West’s email.
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