IP: Federal agents raid warez groups (fwd)

[Eugene Leitl]

-- Eugen* Leitl <a href="http://leitl.org">leitl</a>
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---------- Forwarded message ----------
Date: Tue, 11 Dec 2001 18:58:47 -0500
From: David Farber <dave at farber.net>
Reply-To: farber at cis.upenn.edu
To: ip-sub-1 at majordomo.pobox.com
Subject: IP: Federal agents raid warez groups


>From: "Bill Sodeman" <bill at sodeman.com>
>To: <farber at cis.upenn.edu>
>
>
>http://www.nytimes.com/2001/12/11/technology/11CND-PIRACY.html?pagewante
>d=print
>
>December 11, 2001
>In 27 Cities, U.S. Carries Out Raids in Software Piracy Case
>By DAVID STOUT
>
>WASHINGTON, Dec. 11 - Federal agents carried out dozens of raids today
>against a far-flung network suspected of pirating billions of dollars
>worth of computer software - ranging from operating systems to the
>latest music videos and movies - over the Internet.
>
>Agents seized computers and hard drives in at least 27 cities in 21
>states in raids on businesses, university computer centers, Internet
>service providers and many residences. Foreign law enforcement people
>staged about 20 similar raids in Australia, Britain, Finland and Norway.
>
>Treasury and Commerce department officials said more raids will be
>conducted in the weeks ahead. No arrests were made in the United States,
>partly because today's operations were aimed at gathering evidence. Some
>of the people implicated, aware that they could face charges of
>conspiracy or theft of intellectual property, are already cooperating
>with the authorities, department officials said.
>
>The operation that culminated in today's raids, after a 15-month
>inquiry, is part of "the largest and most extensive investigation of its
>kind," Customs Commissioner Robert C. Bonner said.
>
><snip>
>
>Officials said offenders could face up to three years in prison, upon
>conviction, and depending on their willingness to cooperate. By midday,
>the authorities said, more than 60 people in the United States had been
>identified as being involved in the pirating operation. Several suspects
>have already been charged overseas.
>
>The target of the raids was the "Warez" group, a loosely affiliated
>network of software-piracy gangs that duplicate and reproduce
>copyrighted software over the Internet. Of special interest today was a
>Warez unit known as "DrinkOrDie," probably the oldest and best known in
>the Warez network, officials said, adding that DrinkOrDie members take
>special pride in having cracked and pirated the Windows 95 operating
>system three days before its release to the public.
>
>Members of Warez includes corporate executives, computer-network
>administrators and students at major universities, government workers
>and employees of technology and computer firms, the Customs Service said
>today. The agency said the piracy ring is aided by insiders in stealing
>the software and that the ring relies on elaborate computer-security
>devices to minimize risk of detection.
>
>Raids were carried out today at the University of California at Los
>Angeles, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Purdue University,
>Duke University and the University of Oregon, officials said. They said
>the universities themselves, like the various companies raided today,
>were not involved in the wrongdoing by their employees and were
>cooperating in the inquiry.
>
>Cities where raids were staged included New York, Washington, Houston,
>Indianapolis, San Francisco, Boston, Philadelphia, Miami, Atlanta and
>Chicago, the government said.
>
>==========================
>
>Bill Sodeman
>bill at sodeman.com / http://bill.sodeman.com
>
>1-512-845-0119

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