adam1 Posted 28 September 2010 Share Posted 28 September 2010 Wasn't there someone who complained on here about receiving a letter or email for downloading porn? I offered my help but got no response (considering I have done a research paper into copyright and downloading at LLM level with a mark of distinction perhaps they should have done). http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11418962 The personal details of thousands of Sky broadband customers have been leaked on to the internet, alongside a list of pornographic movies they are alleged to have shared online. The list, seen by BBC News, details the full names and addresses of over 5,300 people thought by law firm ACS:Law to be illegally sharing adult films. It appeared online following an attack on the ACS:Law website. A web poster encouraging users to target Mr Crossley and his firm was posted on the 4Chan message boards "All our evidence does is identify an internet connection that has been utilised to share copyright work," he told BBC News when pressed about the BSkyB database. "In relation to the individual names, these are just the names and addresses of the account owner and we make no claims that they themselves were sharing the files," he added. Mr Crossley said he had no further comment when asked why the Excel document was unencrypted, but said he had notified the police, the ICO and was in communication with the SRA. A spokesperson for Sky told BBC News that they were "very concerned at the apparent security breach involving data held by ACS:Law". "At this stage of our investigation, we believe that the data included the names and addresses of around 4,000 Sky Broadband customers," they said. "Like other broadband providers, Sky can be required by Court Order to disclose information about customers whose accounts are alleged to have been used for illegal downloading. We only ever provide such data in encrypted form." Direct action Simon Davis, from the watchdog Privacy International, said he would be asking the Information Commissioner to "conduct a full investigation" and hoped it would be "a test case of the Information Commissioner's new powers". "You rarely find an aspect where almost every aspect of the Data Protection Act (DPA) has been breached, but this is one of them," said Mr Davies. The UK's Information Commissioner said it would investigate the leak. Privacy expert Simon Davis has called it "one of the worst breaches" of the Data Protection Act he had ever seen. Data breach The documents appeared online after users of the message-board 4chan attacked ACS:Law's site in retaliation for its anti-piracy efforts. The firm has made a business out of sending thousands of letters to alleged net pirates, asking them to pay compensation of about £500 per infringement or face court. It uses third-party firms to scour the net looking for possible infringements of music and film copyright. Armed with IP (internet protocol) addresses - which can identify the internet connection used in any copyright infringement - its lawyers can then apply for a court order to get the physical address of the PC from the service provider whose network has allegedly been used for the file-sharing. A BBC investigation in August found a number of people saying they were wrongly accused by ACS:Law of illegal file-sharing. UK consumer group Which? says it has also received a number of complaints. Many contest that IP addresses can be spoofed. ACS:Law is under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its role in sending letters to alleged pirates. Continue reading the main story The leak contains around 1,000 confidential e-mails, along with the list, which was an attachment on one of the messages. The collection was then uploaded to file sharing website, The Pirate Bay, where it is being shared by hundreds of users. The confidential e-mails include personal correspondence between Andrew Crossley - who runs ACS:Law - and work colleagues, as well as lists of potential file-sharers and information on how much the firm has made through its anti-file-sharing activities. While some of the e-mails, detailing the internal workings of the company, may prove embarrassing, the leaking of an unencrypted document - that lists the personal details of more than 5,300 BSkyB Broadband subscribers alongside a list of adult videos they may have downloaded and shared online - could be a breach of the Data Protection Act. Speaking to BBC News, Mr Crossley said there were "legal issues" surrounding the leak. "We were the subject of a criminal attack to our systems. The business has and remains intact and is continuing to trade," he added. Mr Crossley said he would not comment directly on the contents of individual e-mails. "It fits perfectly for the term 'egregious misuse' of personal data," he added. A spokesperson for the Information Commissioners Office (ICO) told BBC News that it "takes all breaches of the DPA very seriously". "Any organisation processing personal data must ensure that it is kept safe and secure. "The ICO will be contacting ACS:Law to establish further facts of the case and to identify what action, if any, needs to be taken." The attack on ACS:Law is the latest in a number of high-profile attacks by piracy activists. Last week, hackers temporarily knocked out the websites of the Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) and the Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA). The attacks were declared on notorious message-board 4chan and were reportedly in retaliation for anti-piracy efforts against file-sharing websites. Users of 4chan are renowned for online activism and direct action. "Operation Payback", as it was known, was reportedly revenge for the MPAA and RIAA's action against The Pirate Bay. The group has declared it will continue to target other sites involved in anti online piracy activity. To make it clear, this is not the fault of sky. They have to give ACS Law the details where ACS Law get a court order. However, ACS Law and Davenport Lyons (another law firm) have been criticised for their approach. More often then not the letters amount to a giant mailshot as the system and data they use is not accurate. When a letter is sent out for the alleged sharing of 'army ****ers' a hardcore german gay film (where the farmhands get busy with ss officers - imagine the embarrassment if you were a socialist!) with the threat of public court action, there is a strong chance that even if you hadn't downloaded the film you would pay the £500. It is quite clear that there is a human rights issue. This is effectively blackmail. I disagree with what 4chan have done. They have acted in a manner which could effect the lives of what they would deem to be 'innocent people'. Any response of 'collateral damage' from them in my opinion would translate as 'we didn't think this through.' Especially because of the emotional embarrassment if your name appears alongside a gay film. I do not know what films are listed, they might be all straight but nevertheless when someone from the uni of Leicester (ironically the first email i opened and read), name I shall not post (but female) will be embarrassed. Especially as her mum got the letter first. Dirty girl.... But back to the seriousness of 'downloading'. It isn't the downloading where they catch you. Its when you upload as you download. Even then there is an argument then 1mb of a 1gig film wouldn't be a substantial infringement. When you download a file always ALWAYS FOLLOW THE BASIC MEASURES 1) NEVER UPLOAD THE FILE 2) ON DOWNLOADING A FILE ONLY SELECT THE FILE YOU NEED - NOT THE READ ME OR OTHER CRAP JUST THE MAIN FILE IN THE FOLDER 3) TRY TO ENCRYPT WHERE POSSIBLE. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Christoph Posted 28 September 2010 Share Posted 28 September 2010 Torrents are bait nowadays anyway, all about using newsgroups, cant get caught and top speed always, way worth it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam1 Posted 28 September 2010 Author Share Posted 28 September 2010 If you have been downloading Cascada be warned..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Alexikokopops Posted 28 September 2010 Share Posted 28 September 2010 The personal details of a further 8,000 people alleged to have shared music or films illegally have appeared online. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam1 Posted 28 September 2010 Author Share Posted 28 September 2010 The personal details of a further 8,000 people alleged to have shared music or films illegally have appeared online. They were already online. With all the emails its difficult to establish what there is. People are going through every email and its attachments. A lot of things still haven't yet come out. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
acooling08 Posted 28 September 2010 Share Posted 28 September 2010 Be Safe - Use Red Tube Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
iBleedLeicesterColours Posted 28 September 2010 Share Posted 28 September 2010 For your info being leaked.. do you get free porn reward ? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DJ Barry Hammond Posted 28 September 2010 Share Posted 28 September 2010 I disagree with what 4chan have done. They have acted in a manner which could effect the lives of what they would deem to be 'innocent people'. Any response of 'collateral ramage' from them in my opinion would translate as 'we didn't think this through.' Especially because of the emotional embarrassment if your name appears alongside a gay film. I do not know what films are listed, they might be all straight but nevertheless when someone from the uni of Leicester (ironically the first email i opened and read), name I shall not post (but female) will be embarrassed. Especially as her mum got the letter first. Dirty girl.... I have that one on DVD! Just thought I'd boast a little. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Placebo Posted 29 September 2010 Share Posted 29 September 2010 Be Safe - Use Red Tube Be safe and smart, usenet + SSL Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hairy Posted 29 September 2010 Share Posted 29 September 2010 The site for checking who has been listed is down atm but should be working soon http://www.ueof.co.uk/acslaw/postcode.php?postcode=LE1+6ZG Some people obviously like watching these type of movies with Grannys in them Edit: click on search a few times and it works Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
adam1 Posted 29 September 2010 Author Share Posted 29 September 2010 Regarding the 'infringement of works,' infringement requires the following two things (there are other requirements but they are needed in addition); 1) Without permission 2) Substantial amount. 1) If they have uploaded a work to torrent sites to track - then it is entrapment. Further I would argue that they are impliedly giving permission for the work to be downloaded. If their letters state that you have downloaded said works without permission and request £x amount from you, if above is correct regarding them uploading works to be tracked, I would go so far as to suggest fraudulent activity. 2) With regards to substantial amount - this could be little as 10 seconds or a couple of bars of a song IF it is the key part of the song. i.e. key bit of rythm or faithless become one style 'du de de de de du'. Its the memorable part of the song. With regards to how torrents upload - if you upload 5% of a song it will not be substantial. This is because the file is in pieces. So you have fragments from the start, end and bits inbetween. This file cannot be played. Therefore no substantial amount and no infringement. If they are uploading, I'm no computer tech, but I would imagine that whatever everyone downloads, the majority would come from the original source if the bandwidth was good enough. Therefore as an additional point it would be impossible for the majority of the infringers to have uploaded anything of reasonable size. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CupidStunt Posted 4 October 2010 Share Posted 4 October 2010 wonder if my names on the list, uploaded a few TB's in my time over the last few years newsgroups is what you need or seedbox, or even access to the scenes "hidden" servers like erm, me mate Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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