Peer-to-peer 'seeders' could be targeted
* 14:45 14 January 2005
* NewScientist.com news service
* Will Knight
http://www.newscientist.com/article.ns?id=dn6882
File traders who seed peer-to-peer networks with copyrighted material can be
identified and traced, according to a US company.
BayTSP, based in California, US, monitors peer-to-peer (P2P) trading
networks using a technique called software "spidering". The new software,
called FirstSource, allows it to determine which user first uploaded a
particular file for trading. It does this by mimicking the behaviour of a
user on a massive scale - sending out multiple requests for a file extremely
quickly. It deduces the culprits by assuming that only they will have the
full 100% of the file, having uploaded the original.
"The first propagator, as we call them, has 100% of the file available for
download and other individuals then begin downloading and sharing the
portions they've received," says Jim Graham, a spokesman for BayTSP.
"Once the file is confirmed to be the content in question, we can then
monitor individuals who download from the initial source," he adds. "You
might have tens of thousands of copies available for download, but all of
them likely originated from a handful of source files that have been copied
over and over."
Rampant piracy
File-sharing networks such as eDonkey let users search each other's
computers for music and movie files and then download them directly. Other
P2P networks, like BitTorrent, let users download a file from multiple
sources simultaneously, speeding up the distribution process.
These networks are blamed by the entertainment industry for enabling rampant
piracy. Users offering substantial amounts of copyrighted material for
download have already been sued by industry bodies such as the Recording
Industry Association of America and the US Motion Picture Association.
Recent evidence, however, suggests that most files come from relatively few
sources. This is especially true for films or albums that are uploaded
before their official release date, having been leaked or acquired
illicitly. Graham says FirstSource could enable copyright enforcers to focus
their legal attacks against those who are at the root of illegal
distribution.
But some P2P network experts say the system may be far from perfect.
"If you are spidering over millions of nodes that are rapidly appearing and
disappearing how can you say for sure that one node with 100% of a file's
contents didn't pull it from another node that just disappeared a minute
before?" asks Brad Neuberg, a programmer in San Francisco, US, who works on
a P2P information sharing network called Rojo Networks.
"Trivial modification"
Adam Langley, a UK-based P2P programmer adds that network developers could
also modify their software to get around such monitoring.
"If it becomes known that seeders are being targeted then they may well
chose to start doing silly tricks like distributing the file via another
system amongst a small group of people," he told New Scientist.
"I suspect it would only require a trivial modification to render this
technique useless," adds Ian Clarke, who is one of the programmers behind an
anonymous file-trading network called Freenet. Freenet makes it impossible
to tell who requests a file by encrypting data and communications and
distributing between multiple sources.
Graham admits that the technology is not infallible but believes it could be
a useful weapon for copyright enforcers. "If a company were able to identify
the first individual or small group of individuals who upload pirated
intellectual property, those individuals could be held liable for
substantial damages," he says.
You are a subscribed member of the infowarrior list. Visit
www.infowarrior.org for list information or to unsubscribe. This message
may be redistributed freely in its entirety. Any and all copyrights
appearing in list messages are maintained by their respective owners.
