cybercrime-alerts
Wed, 12 Dec 2001 18:36:03 -0800
* via http://theMezz.com/lists * subscribe at http://techPolice.com U.S. plans new raids on file swappers By Robert Lemos Staff Writer, CNET News.com December 12, 2001, 2:30 p.m. PT http://news.cnet.com/news/0-1005-200-8145809.html?tag=prntfr Federal officials said new raids targeting Internet "warez" groups are in the works following the largest U.S. crackdown on Internet piracy in history this week, including potential strikes outside the country. "This is only the first step," said Kevin Bell, spokesman for the nation's customs agency. "The investigation is ongoing." The U.S. Customs Service, along with the U.S. Department of Justice, on Tuesday raided universities and high-tech businesses in 27 cities as part of an international crackdown on underground groups that actively trade in illicit copies of software and digital media. Dubbed "Operation Buccaneer," the enforcement action occurred simultaneously in four other countries, where an additional 22 search warrants were issued, resulting in the arrests of nine people. None of the suspects in the United States have yet been arrested. "This investigation underscores the severity and scope of a multibillion-dollar software swindle over the Internet, as well as the vulnerabilities of this technology to outside attack," Customs Commissioner Robert Bonner said in a statement. In the first overt action of a 15-month investigation of such organized groups of pirates, the Customs Service targeted the oldest and largest group, known as DrinkOrDie. "We are targeting these groups that do it all the time," said Customs Service spokesman Bell. "If you are at your house one night and you want to get a free copy of some software, that's not what we are talking about." Customs agents seized 129 computers in the 38 searches nationwide, said Bell. Among the data captured were Web sites with so much pirated media that it took 4,000 pages to list the titles. Another seized system had more than 5,000 movies, including the blockbuster "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone." "The data was available to millions of people all over the world," said Bell, who added that another 15 countries may take part in the action. Members of the DrinkOrDie group included corporate executives, computer network administrators and students at major U.S. universities who regularly uploaded copy-protected software and digital media to be broken by other members of the group. There are perhaps as many as 10 major warez communities such as DrinkOrDie. And they don't do it for profit, said Bell. "They believe in a free Internet," he said. "They don't want any rules or any laws that inhibit what they do." Warez (pronounced "wares") describes software and digital material that has been stripped of anti-copying protections and made available on the Internet for downloading. Washington, D.C.-based Business Software Alliance, which represents the software industry's interests, has estimated that U.S. software companies lost $2.6 billion in 2000 because of software piracy. Because the amount of data and evidence that the Customs Service must sort through is so large, Bell said he expected arrest warrants for subjects in the case would take two to three months to obtain. ============================================================ For meals, baking recipes and advice, visit veryBestBaking.com from Nestle. Enjoy hundreds of recipes and baking advice from trusted brands such as Nestle Toll House, Carnation Milk, and Libby's Pumpkin. http://click.topica.com/caaaeKnb1dhr0b2EDp2f/Nestle ============================================================ --via http://techPolice.com archive: http://theMezz.com/cybercrime/archive subscribe: [EMAIL PROTECTED] --via http://theMezz.com ==^================================================================ This email was sent to: archive@jab.org EASY UNSUBSCRIBE click here: http://topica.com/u/?b1dhr0.b2EDp2 Or send an email to: [EMAIL PROTECTED] T O P I C A -- Register now to manage your mail! http://www.topica.com/partner/tag02/register ==^================================================================