11-Nation Raid on Net Pirates

Cobb writes "The US Justice Department announce a global crack-down on large scale internet pirates distributing first run movies. According to the article: "FBI agents and investigators in the other nations conducted 90 searches starting Wednesday, arresting four people and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works, a Justice official said. Authorities also seized hundreds of computers in raids in the United States, Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom.""

Comments

Re:Coordination of Efforts

[00squirrel]

If the US Justice Department can coordinate such an effort among 11 different nations and justice systems, why can't we find Osama Bin Laden?

Bin Laden didn't pirate Star Wars did he? What do you think the Department of Homeland Security is supposed to be doing? They can't be bothered with people like Bin Laden when the real threat is people downloading MP3's. Read down the article for DHS involvement info.

The Article

[TubeSteak]

The Associated Press Updated: 3:16 p.m. ET June 30, 2005

WASHINGTON - The government announced an 11-nation crackdown Thursday on Internet piracy organizations responsible for stealing copies of the latest Star Wars film and other movies, games and software programs worth at least $50 million.

FBI agents and investigators in the other nations conducted 90 searches starting Wednesday, arresting four people, seizing hundreds of computers and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works.

The Justice Department "is striking at the top of the copyright piracy supply chain -- a distribution chain that provides the vast majority of illegal digital content now available online," Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said.

Called Operation Site Down, the crackdown involved undercover FBI operations run out of Chicago, San Francisco and Charlotte, N.C., and involved help from authorities in Australia, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, France, Germany, Israel, the Netherlands, Portugal and the United Kingdom.

Among those arrested was Chirayu Patel of Fremont, Calif., on charges of violating federal copyright protection laws. Patel is alleged to be a member of a "warez" group, a kind of underground Internet co-op that is set up to trade in copyrighted materials.

Warez (pronounced "wares") groups are extraordinarily difficult to infiltrate because users talk only in encrypted chat rooms, their computer servers require passwords and many are located overseas, the FBI has said.

The investigations targeted "release groups" that are the original sources of pirated works that can be distributed worldwide in hours. Among the warez groups targeted are RiSCISO, Myth, TDA, LND, Goodfellaz, Hoodlum, Vengeance, Centropy, Wasted Time, Paranoid, Corrupt, Gamerz, AdmitONE, Hellbound, KGS, BBX, KHG, NOX, NFR, CDZ, TUN and BHP.

Those groups are believed responsible for stealing and distributing copyrighted works including films "Star War Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," and "Mr. and Mrs. Smith," and Autodesk's Autocad 2006 and Adobe's Photoshop software.

Warez groups differ from popular file-swapping networks, where millions of files are shared without precautions to limit access.

Last month, authorities shut down a popular Web site that facilitated the downloading of movies and other materials. Investigators said many of the copyright movies were available through the Elite Torrents site even before their commercial release. No arrests were announced at the time.

President Bush signed a new law last month setting tough penalties of up to 10 years in prison for anyone caught distributing a movie or song before its commercial release.

Though I'm not up-to-date on my "warez" kn0wl3dge
Myth and Centropy are old skool and HUGE.

as of 5/31 "Rumors have it that Centropy is going INTERNAL on all future releases"
Looks like too little, too late.

Well worth the man hours.

[g0bshiTe]

"According to the article: "FBI agents and investigators in the other nations conducted 90 searches starting Wednesday, arresting four people and shutting down at least eight major online distribution servers for pirated works, a Justice official said."

This is a worthwhile venture for citizens tax dollars.

All the effort put forth, planning, execution. And they managed to get 4 really hardened criminals off the streets.

In an unrelated story, 700 elderly people died in the US today, from heat stroke after having their power turned off because they couldn't pay their bill.