Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

AT&T Gets Patent To Monitor and Track File-Sharing Traffic

Posted by timothy on from the phone-company-is-the-isp-and-vice-versa dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Internet provider AT&T has patented a new technology that allows the company to accurately track content being shared via BitTorrent and other P2P networks. The company explains that the technology can be utilized to detect pirated downloads and combat congestion on its network. Whether the company is already using the system to track infringing content, or has plans to do so, is unknown."

18 of 75 comments (clear)

  1. Wishful thinking... by Kaenneth · · Score: 5, Funny

    "Your users are infringing our copyrights!"

    "You just infringed our Patent."

    1. Re:Wishful thinking... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Informative

      "You all infringed our basic human rights"

  2. Encypted VPNs FTW by maliqua · · Score: 4, Interesting

    So i guess one should just factor the cost of VPN service into there comparison when deciding which ISP to chose

    1. Re:Encypted VPNs FTW by fredprado · · Score: 4, Interesting

      Sorry my friend, but most of the VPN services used for this end do not keep records and are in places where they are not required to. Who the hell would use a VPN in US, land of the corporations?

    2. Re:Encypted VPNs FTW by Seumas · · Score: 2

      That isn't always the case. You need to inquire as to the policy of your VPN service. For example, ProXPN (a service I've been looking into) makes the following statements about their policy:

      "proXPN, B.V. will only use personally identifiable information collected through our web site to contact users regarding only products and services offered by proXPN, B.V. We will NOT share this information with anyone. Period."

      Our system only monitors a connection if a user is having connection issues so that we can improve our services to you.

      Information about users that is maintained on our systems is protected using industry standard security measures.

      We do not monitor or record activity on our network (not that we even could, as the connection is encrypted).

      We log which proXPN IP is assigned when a user connects. These logs are kept for 2 weeks and then deleted. We use these logs for internal server administration and IP provisioning.

      Of course, I'm sure that if the government knew you were using a particular VPN service (easily identified by your billing records), they could just contact the company and say "from today on, you must monitor and retain all records for this user" and they would.

    3. Re:Encypted VPNs FTW by CanEHdian · · Score: 2

      We log which proXPN IP is assigned when a user connects. These logs are kept for 2 weeks and then deleted. We use these logs for internal server administration and IP provisioning.

      Isn't the entire point that the VPN IP you are using CANNOT be traced back to you? Why is this logged? I don't mind logging THAT you are using the service and other billing-related data points, but why the exact IP (instead of e.g. out of which pool)? And why keep these logs for a full 14 days instead of the duration of the connection and in volatile memory to boot? 14 days is long enough to obtain subpoenas, evidence preservation orders, etc.

      --
      When the copyright term is "forever minus a day", live every day like it's the last.
  3. So they patented... by Molochi · · Score: 2

    So they patented tracking an easily traceable file transfer protocol. One that everyone knows leaves them open to easily provable lawsuits if they use it to pirate stuff.

    So are they going to sue Comcast over this? Or does Comcast have prior art?

    --
    "The Adobe Updater must update itself before it can check for updates. Would you like to update the Adobe Updater now?"
  4. don't sell it if you can't provide it. by gandhi_2 · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "combat congestion on its network" ...which is more cost-effective than... you know... actually paying for the infrastructure to handle the utilization levels you are selling to customers.

    --
    THL phish sticks
  5. Obvious by Thor+Ablestar · · Score: 5, Interesting

    The method is simple: Find a link to torrent, check it for copyright violation and try to download registering IPs of peers in process.

    The technological countermethod is simple too: I2P or VPN. I2P is a CLOSED network, and it means that you cannot download anything from ordinary Internet but VPN can be used traditionally. There are lots of other P2P networks but I just have no info about them.

    The legal countermethod is simple too: Attempt of investigators to download a counterfeit file is a provocation of crime that should not happen without it. And there is no method to ensure that the peer really contains a file except this provocation.

    1. Re:Obvious by Gaygirlie · · Score: 3, Informative

      The method is simple: Find a link to torrent, check it for copyright violation and try to download registering IPs of peers in process.

      Alas, not everyone is necessarily sharing, and in many countries just the act of downloading copyrighted material without sharing it is not illegal or constitutes a copyright violation. It is, for example, possible to download from BitTorrent like this, though not many people seem to know how.

    2. Re:Obvious by Tyr07 · · Score: 4, Informative

      Not good enough.

      Confirmed torrent. Confirmed IP's. Did not confirm machine with content. Did not confirm owner of machine.
      Encryption is enabled. Unable to confirm actual data is being transmitted to IP address, unable to determine actual data is be transmitted from the IP address.
      Only method to confirm - Receive and or send copyrighted data to IP to confirm it has or is receiving copyrighted data.

      Crap, provided copyrighted files to people.
      Arrest self.

      There's laws that prevent entrapment etc. Special cases can get special warrents but generally.

    3. Re:Obvious by SuricouRaven · · Score: 2

      Entrapment doesn't come into this, because there is no need to take the issue to court either civil or criminal. The main interest from ISPs like AT&T is going to be in bandwidth conservation - all they need to do is find the torrent users, apply a quick whitelist for the 'big legitimate' class like WoW updaters, and throttle the rest to dialup level. It does mean a few false alarms as people downloading the more obscure linux distros and independent films are misclassified as pirates, but the loss of a small fraction of customers* could be far outweighed by the savings made in peering costs and deferred network upgrades.

      *Assuming they actually have an alternative provider to go to - many areas have a regional monopoly ISP.

  6. In Soviet Russia the pr0n downloads YOU! by Thor+Ablestar · · Score: 3, Informative

    What do you mean by "solid adversaries"? My comrade (I live in Russia) uses Ipredator.se. There is zero possibility that Ipredator will cooperate with Russian copyright agency or Russian anti-extremist agency (There is also consumer rights agency that censors against suicide etc but there are no criminal fees for such violations). And is zero possibility that YOUR solid adversaries such as NSA, CIA aso will cooperate with OUR adversaries as FSB, KGB, NKVD, GULAG aso for pressing Ipredator.

    1. Re:In Soviet Russia the pr0n downloads YOU! by loosescrews · · Score: 2

      Ipredator is run by The Pirate Bay.

  7. Re:Use Encrypted Anonymous Networks Instead... by Thor+Ablestar · · Score: 2

    Due to modern snooping tech, it's quite unwise to believe that any amount of noise will hide anything.

  8. here is an idea by Osgeld · · Score: 3, Insightful

    quit overselling your network and spend more time developing your crappy network rather than being the media companies bitch

    win win

  9. Re:Magic Button by Stormthirst · · Score: 2

    I was wondering the same thing. Doesn't this invalidate their common carrier status?

  10. Re:Hey... thats illegal. by Thor+Ablestar · · Score: 2

    No. Other peer makes a crypto handshake with you, and you voluntarily agree to establish an encrypted link with him. After this, you have no "They illegally decrypted my communications" excuse. Then they use the standard Bittorrent protocol to request any part of the file, and you voluntarily agree to send it. They get it from your IP. You are caught.