Investigating Internet Piracy
SA Kenya A. Merritt Federal Bureau of Investigation Cyber Division, Intellectual Property Unit 1 Criminal Charges in Internet Piracy Cases h Copyright Infringement h Organized release groups (“Warez”) h Peer-to-Peer operators h Web retailers for pirated software, DVDs and games h Sellers of pirated materials on auction sites
2 Criminal Charges in Internet Piracy Cases hTrademark Crimes h Web storefronts for counterfeit hard goods h Auction sellers of counterfeit goods h Internet pharmacies for counterfeit drugs
3 Internet Piracy Group hWarez Groups hBitTorrent Groups
4 What are Warez? hWarez – (Slang cracker terminology for Software) unauthorized copyrighted works distributed without fees or royalties.
5 Types of Warez hVideo Games hMP3 hCracks hTrial versions changed with out authorization to full versions of software package
6 Warez Groups Overview hWarez Groups: hVery secretive hMembers transfer files using File Transfer Protocol hCentral servers contain group’s pirated releases hIf Law Enforcement can locate and seize central server, it can usually identify the group’s members
7 Warez Group Components h Release Groups h Obtain copyrighted material from Suppliers h Top Sites h Websites hosting pirated content h Couriers h Sites h Leechers
8 BitTorrent Overview h Most efficient and popular way to distribute movies and software to a large number of people h Accounts for majority of P2P traffic h October 21, 2008 study: h P2P accounts 21% of global downstream traffic h P2P accounts for 61% of global upstream traffic
9 BitTorrent Components hPeers – the individuals hSeeders and Leechers hTracker – the evidentiary treasure trove hDatabase of all activity by peers h.Torrent file hText file that allows peer to talk to tracker to download desired file from other peers
10 11 BitTorrent Process h User visits website and downloads .torrent file for movie, software, video game h User opens the .torrent file in BitTorrent program h Program connects to Tracker, which allows peer to find and connect to a group of other peers who are distributing pieces of the desired file h Program downloads file pieces from peers h Program puts the pieces together
12 How BitTorrent Works
During the process, a tracker helps the seed and peers make decisions that are efficient for the network as a whole.
Peers
At the beginning, only the seed has the file. Seed
13 How BitTorrent Works
The seed begins to send different pieces of the file to different peers.
14 How BitTorrent Works
As soon as a peer has a piece, it starts sending it to other peers that need it.
The seed continues to send pieces to peers.
15 How BitTorrent Works
Peers continue to send pieces to each other.
The seed continues to send pieces to peers.
16 How BitTorrent Works
Once all the pieces are out, the peers can share among themselves until each peer has all the pieces.
The seed can help, but it’s no longer necessary. 17 Digital Evidence Legal Challenges hDifficult to collect evidence at the network level hIndividuals responsible may be located overseas hDifficult to hold one person or company responsible hDifficult to identify individuals hUse of Aliases and proxy servers
18 Digital Evidence Legal Solutions
h Identify the true server location and seek cooperation with legal attaches. h Try to obtain a copy of the server. This often provides insight to all necessary criminal evidence. h Because of subject limited maintenance of records, continuous copies of connection logs or databases may be necessary. Trackers often only log the most recent activity. h Subjects often log their own chat sections, these records often can be used to corroborate subject knowledge of illegal activity. 19 Contact Information h [email protected] h Intellectual Property Prosecution Manual (available for free at www.cybercrime.gov)
20 Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) www.ic3.gov Special Agent Kenya A. Merritt [email protected] Federal Bureau of Investigation Washington, D.C.
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