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‘Tor and Bitcoin Hinder Anti-Piracy Efforts’


Batu69

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A new report published by the European Union Intellectual Property Office identifies a wide range of 'business models' that are used by pirate sites. The organization, which announced a new collaboration with Europol this week, signals Bitcoin and the Tor network as two key threats to ongoing anti-piracy efforts.

 

To avoid enforcement efforts, pirate sites often go to extremes to hide themselves from rightsholders and authorities.

Increasingly, this also means that they use various encryption technologies to increase their resilience and anonymity.

 

Several of these techniques are highlighted in a new report published by the European Union Intellectual Property Office (EUIPO).

The report gives a broad overview of the business models that are used to illegally exploit intellectual property. This includes websites dedicated to counterfeit goods, but also online piracy hubs such as torrent sites and file-hosting platforms.

 

EUIPO hopes that mapping out these business models will help to counter the ongoing threat they face.

“The study will provide enhanced understanding to policymakers, civil society and private businesses. At the same time, it will help to identify and better understand the range of responses necessary to tackle the challenge of large scale online IPR infringements,” EUIPO notes.

 

According to the research, several infringing business models rely on encryption-based technologies. The Tor network and Bitcoin, for example, are repeatedly mentioned as part of this “shadow landscape”.

 

“It more and more relies on new encrypted technologies like the TOR browser and the Bitcoin virtual currency, which are employed by infringers of IPR to generate income and hide the proceeds of crime from the authorities,” the report reads.

 

According to the report, Bitcoin’s threat is that the transactions can’t be easily traced to a person or company. This is problematic, since copyright enforcement efforts are often based on a follow-the-money approach.

 

“There are no public records connecting Bitcoin wallet IDs with personal information of individuals. Because of these Bitcoin transactions are considered semi-anonymous,” EUIPO writes.

 

Similarly, sites and services that operate on the darknet, such as the Tor network, are harder to take down. Their domain names can’t be seized, for example, and darknet sites are not subject to ISP blockades.

 

“Through the use of TOR, a user’s Internet traffic is encrypted and routed in specific ways to achieve security and anonymity,” the report notes.

While the report doesn’t list any names, it describes various popular torrent, streaming and file-hosting sites. In one specific case, it mentions an e-book portal that operates exclusively on the darknet, generating revenue from Bitcoin donations.

 

Most traditional pirate sites still operate on the ‘open’ Internet. However, several sites now allow users to donate Bitcoin and both The Pirate Bay and KickassTorrents both have a dedicated darknet address as well.

 

EUIPO is clearly worried about these developments, but the group doesn’t advocate a ban of encryption-based services as they also have legitimate purposes.

However, it signals that these and other trends should be followed with interest, as they make it harder to tackle various forms of counterfeiting and piracy online.

 

As part of the efforts to cut back various forms of copyright infringement, EUIPO also announced a new partnership with Europol this week. The organizations launched the Intellectual Property Crime Coordinated Coalition which aims to strengthen the fight against counterfeiting and piracy.

 

TorrentFreak

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this fucking continent and his organizations like Europol has no bigger problem / enemy than TOR and Bitcoin? If I read things like that I hope there will be a next generation of RAF, that is assertive enough to send this police state to hell.

 

FCK CPS

 

We spend to much money to hunt darknet users but we don't have enough money to safe each refugee life if thy try to come to Europe over the Mediterranean Sea?

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SnakeMasteR

Wow. Didn't knew Europe is a country, always thought it's a continent?

Why raging at the feds? It's not like they are completely wrong but what's even more funny is that there is a lot more stuff going on than piracy but as we've probably learnt, lifes don't really matter, only money (or financial damage) does.

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@n0_risk!

 

You are right = Europe is not a country but you are from Germany and I think you know that guys like Thomas de Maizière etc. sacrifices every freedom to reach his goal but why thy don't do anything against corruption or tax evasion etc.? There are so much bigger problems than TOR.

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SnakeMasteR

Money for warez is rightfully a crime and it's corrupt too, unethical. There are enough people that cash in on other peoples property without any right to do so. I think there is a difference between some blog without any monetization involved, just for the sake of sharing with free hosters and a regular warez site organized in a way to profit from warez.

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I don't care if there are some people makes money whit warez - more money should be stuck in the fight against child pornography, etc.. Crime is a part of our lives and there is really worse than TOR or warez - and another aspect - if someone is stupid enough to pay for warez I hope he pays for nothing - stupidity must be punished

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People have paid for warez  long before the internet existed  and its on the streets  with all other crime ,  You call someone stupid  because they have money to pay a fee to download unlimited amount of files .

 

That's not stupid that's  just having money to do what you want . I remember back before warez blogs became popular and before filehost paid cash . We came too forums and shared freely with one another .They can blame it on TOR and Bitcoin  all they want but if the filehost didn't pay rewards and get money to began with for accounts they be no need for Bitcoin. I don't  pay money to download so i never used Bitcoin . I use free leechers   and filehost that are free and fast . I don't give a shit if a site goes  out of business  or not so im not going to donate to them to make money off piracy  if they go under 3 more sites will take it's place  if not who cares  ? It's not the end of the world  because you cant get everything you want for free . 

 

 

The internet has ruined  everyone there use too getting anything digital 5 minutes  after its released  . Back in the old days we rented movies and went to the movies and had family time ,  Now days people are recluses living like hermits  behind there pcs . :P

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SnakeMasteR

@steven36

He probably meant a bought serial number from a keygen or a pre-made "retail" software containing a cracked executable etc.

People that buy warez don't know better but it's nothing more than a scam, while they buy under the impression to get something legitimately and that's what makes it nasty because it's sold looking legitimately.

It's hurting everyone involved along the way, the original creator, the reverser and the customer and only 1 gets something in return, that a-hole selling it. :D

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I4rg£8all8ag
12 hours ago, n0_risk! said:

Money for warez is rightfully a crime and it's corrupt too, unethical. There are enough people that cash in on other peoples property without any right to do so. I think there is a difference between some blog without any monetization involved, just for the sake of sharing with free hosters and a regular warez site organized in a way to profit from warez.

What a load of rubbish,  you advocate piracy buy using this site (passing stuff on to friends, family, colleges at work) you are hypocritical.  And to to keep face on this site you throw in "blogs without money involved is OK blah blah" just ask any author or vendor etc.  We all know what we are doing on this site,  it's just that some have the balls to tell the truth and others for some reason dress it up with bull. 

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1 hour ago, I4rg£8all8ag said:

What a load of rubbish,  you advocate piracy buy using this site (passing stuff on to friends, family, colleges at work) you are hypocritical.  And to to keep face on this site you throw in "blogs without money involved is OK blah blah" just ask any author or vendor etc.  We all know what we are doing on this site,  it's just that some have the balls to tell the truth and others for some reason dress it up with bull. 

This site don't allow you to post links to make money off warez.  it's in the rules  it's forbidden ,so if you're on this site to make money off warez you're just here to  leech other members post  were they share for free and post it elsewhere  to make money off of it and there's plenty of that goes on here and other forums  . One of the reasons I don't upload anymore I uploaded from 2006-2011 and it's  one of the reasons many of my cracker friends  don't crack any more,  they sell our work we provided for free, I'm not going to help them make money off warez .I still share in private with people  i know good .

 

So you lose a lot of good stuff  because some people do have values still.  It's too many people hides on these sites  waiting on you to post so they can make money on it. Even in places were it's legal  to file-share it's Illegal to make money off of it . They need too get  a real  job and stop giving us pirates  a bad name .

 

You ask anyone who knew me back when I still uploaded to the public  Ive always been strongly against making money off of it . Because this just gives the governments another reason  to try to stop it .  Most people who went to jail in my country for it  was not because they shared it , the most they would get is a  fine   The ones that went to jail  were  making money from donations or were caught  selling there work witch the copyright belongs to someone else. Even in Vietnam were there not really strict about sharing as long as its not porn  they put people who own filehost in jail for breaking there laws .

 

. If you want too end up in jail  making money on warez is a good way to start  you don't never know. When the FBI  took down Megaupload,  Hong Kong helped the FBI  and Kim Dotcom  lives in NZ   witch is working with the USA as well he will be lucky if he don't pull time.  :P

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SnakeMasteR
What a load of rubbish,  you advocate piracy buy using this site (passing stuff on to friends, family, colleges at work) you are hypocritical.  And to to keep face on this site you throw in "blogs without money involved is OK blah blah" just ask any author or vendor etc.  We all know what we are doing on this site,  it's just that some have the balls to tell the truth and others for some reason dress it up with bull. 

Nah, i guess you've never been on a huge warez site. There is no face to keep on this forum, it's the internet, lel.

Yeah, making money off of warez and actively selling it should take you directly to prison, that's my opinion.

Sharing available information on the other hand is what the internet is all about and has nothing to do with piracy in the first place.

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