Archive for the ‘Enforcement’ Category
Tech companies are being held to a higher standard. They have only themselves to blame
Posted: 2013/05/22 in Bandwidth Management, Blocking, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Filtering, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Net Neutrality, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionLet’s see: freedom of information, freedom of speech, freedom of innovation, net neutrality, mere conduit, never deep packet inspection, never ad injection, unlimited downloading, right to privacy, no blocking, no filtering, court orders always…
TNO is opening the doors of its new Cyber Security Lab, CSL
Posted: 2013/05/22 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Network Security, New Business Models, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reportsThis Cyber Security Lab has been optimally designed to tackle the challenges of Cyber Security in a comprehensive and multidisciplinary way. TNO’s CSL offers highly promising cyber-innovation projects not only its existing expertise but also the technical facilities and a safe working environment.
UK Independence Party Draws Attention To Bilderberg 2013. Who is paying for the expenses of all this policing?
Posted: 2013/05/22 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Public Policy, Stats / reportsUndemocratic session that doesn’t exist costs a lot of taxpayers money…
http://www.infowars.com/uk-independence-party-draws-attention-to-bilderberg-2013/
Internet service providers in the UK have today begun blocking one of the world’s largest streaming movie portals
Posted: 2013/05/20 in Blocking, Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Filtering, Illegal File Sharing, Jurisprudence, Litigation, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionIn a follow up to similar actions, the MPAA obtained a High Court order which compels all major ISPs to begin blocking Movie2K, a massive site with millions of visitors each month.
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TorrentFreak can confirm that in the last week of April several of the UK’s leading ISPs including BT, Virgin Media and TalkTalk, and almost certainly O2, EE and Sky, received a copy of a High Court order compelling them to block the sites.
BT have already begun blocking the site in the UK and Virgin Media inform us that they too will initiate a blockade today.
“Virgin Media has received an order from the Courts requiring it to prevent access to Download4All and Movie2K in order to help protect against copyright infringement,” a spokesperson told TorrentFreak.
“As a responsible ISP, Virgin Media complies with court orders addressed to the company, but strongly believes that changing consumer behaviour to tackle copyright infringement also needs compelling legal alternatives to give consumers access to great content at the right price.”
More:
http://torrentfreak.com/uk-isps-block-huge-movie-site-movie2k-proxy-immediately-unblocks-130520/
Viacom, Paramount, Fox and Lionsgate have all asked Google to take down links pointing to the Pirate Bay documentary TPB-AFK
Posted: 2013/05/20 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Stats / reportsOver the past weeks several movie studios have been trying to suppress the availability of TPB-AFK by asking Google to remove links to the documentary from its search engine. The links are carefully hidden in standard DMCA takedown notices for popular movies and TV-shows.
The silent attacks come from multiple Hollywood sources including Viacom, Paramount, Fox and Lionsgate and are being sent out by multiple anti-piracy outfits.
Fox, with help from six-strikes monitoring company Dtecnet, asked Google to remove a link to TPB-AFK on Mechodownload. Paramount did the same with a link on the Warez.ag forums.
Viacom sent at least two takedown requests targeting links to the Pirate Bay documentary on Mrworldpremiere and Rapidmoviez. Finally, Lionsgate jumped in by asking Google to remove a copy of TPB-AFK from a popular Pirate Bay proxy.
More:
http://torrentfreak.com/hollywood-studios-take-down-pirate-bay-documentary-130519/
Dutch Banks To Block Accounts Of Cyber Criminals (But Probably Not The Ones They Are Allegedly Profiting From Or Have Invested In)
Posted: 2013/05/19 in Blocking, Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Organized Crime, Public Policy, Stats / reportsDutch language news article:
http://webwereld.nl/beveiliging/77804-banken-gaan-rekeningen-internetcriminelen-sneller-blokkeren
Previously:
Dutch Judge: ING Bank Cannot Be Forced To Hand Over Personal Details Of Pirate Site Operator To BREIN
http://vrritti.com/2013/05/17/dutch-judge-ing-bank-cannot-be-forced-to-hand-over-personal-details-of-pirate-site-operator-to-brein/
BREIN Threat Of Criminal Prosecution Meaningless Because Dutch Government Issued Guideline Never To Criminally Prosecute Online Piracy
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/28/brein-threat-of-criminal-prosecution-meaningless-because-dutch-government-issued-guideline-never-to-criminally-prosecute-online-piracy/
Dutch ING Bank has agreed to pay a $619 million penalty for moving billions of dollars through the U.S. financial system at the behest of Cuba, Iran, Myanmar, Libya and Sudan, falsifying the records of New York financial institutions
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/13/dutch-ing-bank-has-agreed-to-pay-a-619-million-penalty-for-moving-billions-of-dollars-through-the-u-s-financial-system-at-the-behest-of-cuba-iran-myanmar-libya-and-sudan-falsifying-the-records-o/
Italian Anonymous Members Were IT Professionals Who Offered Their Services To Their Victims. They Also Ratted Out 30 Fellow Hackers
Posted: 2013/05/19 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Network Security, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsPirates and black hats both cowards when AFK. 4 Italian Anonymous members have been arrested after 10 homes were raided. 6 others under investigation
Dutch language news article:
http://webwereld.nl/beveiliging/77806-opgepakte-italiaanse-anonymous-leden-leidden-dubbel-leven
Endemic gagging: Over 300 UK police silenced with taxpayer millions
Posted: 2013/05/19 in Education / Awareness, Enforcement, New Business Models, Public Policy, Stats / reportsGreater Manchester Police confirmed to the paper that 14 agreements had been signed in the past three years, with a further 17 being signed by Nothumbria Police.
London’s Metropolitan Police is also implicated, having gagged 230 of its police officers over a seven year period, with its former head of human resources, Martin Tiplady, being handed 259,462 pounds after he put his name to one of the agreements. The former commissioner, Sir Paul Stephenson received 176,838 pounds in a single payment: more than 1.8 times his annual salary.
James Patrick, a constable in the Metropolitan Police, was investigated for gross misconduct and told not to use Twitter or his blog last December, after he expressed concerns over the impact of the cuts on the force.
“This is someone who has tried to raise his concerns through the legitimate channels, but was not able to do so,” his lawyer Karen Todner told the Guardian at the point of investigation.
“They are gagged in the NHS, arrested in our police forces and blacklisted in many industries,” Cathy James, chief executive of the charity Public Concern at Work told the Guardian earlier this week, prompting calls for a review of legislation.
In the case of the NHS, potential whistleblowers have been gagged, threatened and stopped from raising concerns pertaining to patient safety.
Audio watermark blocks playback of pirated movies and sends viewers to digital retailers to access titles legally
Posted: 2013/05/18 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Stats / reports, Tech Evolutionhttp://variety.com/2013/biz/news/new-ant-piracy-software-uses-power-of-suggestion-1200481389/
and
Anti-Piracy Technology Links Consumers With Legitimate Services
http://www.hollywoodreporter.com/behind-screen/anti-piracy-technology-links-consumers-523387
Mass Layoffs At Rapidshare. Signs Of Demise, Or Just Cashing The Chips?
Posted: 2013/05/18 in File Sharing, New Business Models, Illegal File Sharing, Education / Awareness, Tech Evolution, Stats / reports, Enforcement, Litigation, CopyrightRapidshare, once one of the world’s premier file hosting and sharing websites has just laid off 45 of the company’s 60 employees according to the Swiss news portal 20min. The company, once the epitome of file hosting on the Web is facing hard times after it changed its business model dramatically in the past year.
More:
http://www.ghacks.net/2013/05/17/mass-layoffs-are-signs-of-rapidshares-demise/
“Unfortunately, we have to part with a number of employees,” Sidler told the paper, adding: “But RapidShare will continue to operate, and we have concrete plans for our future.”
That future likely won’t look at all like RapidShare’s past: The company used to run the world’s most popular one-click file hoster, and was frequented by millions of file sharers looking for safer alternatives when music labels and others started to go after P2P users. However, Rapidshare quickly found itself in court, and fought long legal battles with rights holders in Germany and elsewhere.
More:
http://gigaom.com/2013/05/17/rapidshare-mass-layoffs/
Previously:
Rapidshare Boss And Internet Millionaire Christian Alexander Schmid Buys Himself A New Lair, Possibly With Use Of Middle Man
http://vrritti.com/2013/05/02/rapidshare-boss-and-internet-millionaire-christian-alexander-schmid-buys-himself-a-new-lair-possibly-with-use-of-middle-man/
Banking Privacy More Important than Copyright Enforcement, Court Rules
Posted: 2013/05/17 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Jurisprudence, Privacy / Data Protection, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionPreviously:
Dutch Judge: ING Bank Cannot Be Forced To Hand Over Personal Details Of Pirate Site Operator To BREIN
http://vrritti.com/2013/05/17/dutch-judge-ing-bank-cannot-be-forced-to-hand-over-personal-details-of-pirate-site-operator-to-brein/
Dutch Judge: ING Bank Cannot Be Forced To Hand Over Personal Details Of Pirate Site Operator To BREIN
Posted: 2013/05/17 in Copyright, Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsDutch anti-piracy organization BREIN wanted to learn who is operating pirate platform FTD World. The organization tried to have a judge force ING Bank to hand over personal details related to an FTD bank account.
The Netherlands is widely regarded as a safe haven for the likes of pirates, hackers and other (cyber)criminals due to:
- the availability of cheap and high quality hosting facilities without a need for (proper) identification of customers;
- anonymous payment services;
- lack of government intervention or pro-active measures;
- non-deterrent legal sanctions;
- low or non-existing fines.
Dutch language news article:
http://www.nu.nl/tech/3476631/ing-hoeft-persoonsgegevens-ftd-niet-brein-geven.html
See also:
http://vrritti.com/?s=ftd+brein
and
BREIN Threat Of Criminal Prosecution Meaningless Because Dutch Government Issued Guideline Never To Criminally Prosecute Online Piracy
http://vrritti.com/2012/06/28/brein-threat-of-criminal-prosecution-meaningless-because-dutch-government-issued-guideline-never-to-criminally-prosecute-online-piracy/
Four Anonymous/Lulzsec hackers handed jail sentences: 20 months suspended, 24 months, 30 months and even 32 months
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Cybercrime, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, Jurisprudence, Litigation, Network Security, Organized Crime, Privacy / Data Protection, Public Policy, Stats / reportsConvicts: Ryan Cleary, Jake Davis, Mustafa al-Bassam and Ryan Ackroyd
Targets included the CIA, the U.S. Air Force, Sony Pictures, games maker EA, News International and the UK’s Serious Organised Crime Agency
- hacking into the US Air Force’s computers and possession of indecent images of babies and children;
- possession of images showing child abuse;
- stealing emails, credit card details and passwords from their targets’ computer servers and crashing victims’ websites with distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks;
- providing the software to carry out attacks and posting stolen data online;
- stealing data from Sony;
- redirecting visitors trying to visit the Sun newspaper’s site to a fake story about News Corp chairman Rupert Murdoch committing suicide;
- an unauthorised act to impair the operation of a computer;
- hacking and launching cyber-attacks against organisations including the CIA and Soca.
Pirate Bay Domain Registrar(s) Assist(s) Copyright Infringement. Perhaps Not Only In Sweden?
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Jurisprudence, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Education / Awareness, Stats / reports, Enforcement, Litigation, CopyrightThe organization responsible for Sweden’s top-level domain is facing court action after refusing to disable or seize two domains operated by The Pirate Bay. The Internet Infrastructure Foundation, the body that administers the .SE TLD and engages in projects to better the Internet, now faces a court showdown. The prosecution office is claiming that the foundation is guilty of assisting those who assist others to engage in copyright infringement.
Kim Dotcom Granted Supreme Court Appeal Over U.S. Evidence
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Illegal File Sharing, Litigation, Public Policy, Stats / reportsMegaupload founder Kim Dotcom and his alleged co-conspirators have been thrown a lifeline in their ongoing extradition battle in New Zealand. Previously it was decided that Dotcom could not examine the mountains of evidence being withheld by U.S. authorities, but the Supreme Court has now granted an appeal, so the matter can be settled at the country’s highest court.
“I am looking forward to the NZ Supreme Court review in our case and getting the discovery needed for a fair extradition hearing,” Dotcom commented on the news.
If the Supreme Court sides with Kim Dotcom and his associates, the evidence disclosed would be hugely helpful in ongoing legal battles on multiple continents. This includes the pending extradition battle in New Zealand.
Meanwhile, Megaupload’s lawyers haven’t been sitting still. In the United States they have a request pending to dismiss the case against the company, and last week two of their top lawyers released a white paper accusing the Obama administration of taking instructions from Hollywood.
Over in Europe, Germany was also added to the mix, with Megaupload lawyer Robert Amsterdam asking the Government there to intervene. Amsterdam argues that the human rights of Dotcom, a German citizen, have been violated by the U.S., and he wants the authorities to raise this issue in Washington.
More:
http://torrentfreak.com/kim-dotcom-supreme-court-appeal-over-u-s-evidence-130516/
Nintendo claims ad revenue on user-created YouTube videos that feature its games
Posted: 2013/05/16 in Copyright, Education / Awareness, Enforcement, File Sharing, Google, Illegal File Sharing, New Business Models, Online advertising, Stats / reports, Tech EvolutionNintendo has started claiming ad revenue on user-created Youtube videos featuring its games, according to reports from Youtube users.
Nintendo does not want to block videos containing content that it owns from appearing on Youtube (as many film and music publishers have), but it wants to place ads at the beginning and the end of videos featuring Nintendo games, such as Let’s Plays, with that revenue going to Nintendo as opposed to the creator of the video.
Prolific Youtube channel owner Zack Scott has posted on Facebook about the demands. “I think filing claims against LPers is backwards,” he writes. “Video games aren’t like movies or TV. Each play-through is a unique audiovisual experience. When I see a film that someone else is also watching, I don’t need to see it again. When I see a game that someone else is playing, I want to play that game for myself! Sure, there may be some people who watch games rather than play them, but are those people even gamers?”
Nintendo has issued the following statement to GameFront on the matter: “As part of our on-going push to ensure Nintendo content is shared across social media channels in an appropriate and safe way, we became a Youtube partner and as such in February 2013 we registered our copyright content in the Youtube database. For most fan videos this will not result in any changes, however, for those videos featuring Nintendo-owned content, such as images or audio of a certain length, adverts will now appear at the beginning, next to or at the end of the clips. We continually want our fans to enjoy sharing Nintendo content on Youtube, and that is why, unlike other entertainment companies, we have chosen not to block people using our intellectual property.”
More:
http://uk.ign.com/articles/2013/05/16/nintendo-enforces-copyright-on-youtube-lets-plays
Previously:
YouTube has a special deal with Universal which sees content taken down at the record label’s request and DMCA counter notices blocked with no chance of appeal
http://vrritti.com/2013/04/05/youtube-has-a-special-deal-with-universal-which-sees-content-taken-down-at-the-record-labels-request-and-dmca-counter-notices-blocked-with-no-chance-of-appeal/
