Samurai Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 The actions taken against EliteTorrents.org are indeed an enforcement action by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). This morning, all indications dictated the situation was not an enforcement action, considering the amateurish notice and the official word from EliteTorrent's administration stated they were simply hacked. While visually unimpressive, this would turn out to be part of the overall action by the MPAA, FBI and ICE. When visiting the site, one is confronted with the following notification: "This Site [EliteTorrents.org] has been permanently shut down by the Federal bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement" "The individuals involved in the operation and use of Elite Torrents network are under investigation for criminal copyright infringement" These are very serious words, especially when implying "and use." According to the FBI press release, 10 search warrents have been issued against leading members of EliteTorrents.org. "This morning, agents of the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed 10 search warrants across the United States against leading members of a technologically sophisticated P2P network known as Elite Torrents. Employing technology known as BitTorrent, the Elite Torrents network attracted more than 133,000 members and, in the last four months, allegedly facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 17,800 titles-including movies and software-which were downloaded 2.1 million times. " The press release also explains why the administration of EliteTorrents initially believed this was the result of a DNS hack. "In addition to executing 10 warrants, federal agents also took control of the main server that coordinated all file-sharing activity on the Elite Torrents network." The MPAA was adamant about ridding the Internet of EliteTorrents.org, due to the fact it helped proliferate "Star Wars, Episode III: Revenge of the Sith." Star Wars' prerelease had the MPAA extremely frustrated, and vowed to pursue those distributing the movie. The MPAA made good on their promise, as elaborated in theirpress release. "Carrying out what is known as Operation D-Elite, U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executed search warrants against prominent members in Elite Torrents’ membership," said Motion Picture Association of America, Inc. (MPAA) President and CEO Dan Glickman. "Elite Torrents was one of the first peer to peer networks to post an illegal copy of Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith before the movie officially opened in theaters last Thursday." The FBI press release expands, "For example, the final entry in the Star Wars series, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," was available for downloading on the network more than six hours before it was first shown in theatres. In the next 24 hours, it was downloaded more than 10,000 times." This situation remains fluid, as the extent of the FBI and U.S. Custom enforcement is unclear. For now, only the administration is looking at criminal charges, however the implied possibility against users remains real.Source(s):Yahoo! NewsSlyck News Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erRor67 Posted May 25, 2005 Share Posted May 25, 2005 damn... 10 warrents? I would hate to be the one of the top ten EliteTorrent users there....but damn, thats jacked up.. So were they actually hacked? By who, the MPAA/FBI?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Samurai Posted May 25, 2005 Author Share Posted May 25, 2005 They weren't hacked. They were shut down.Check out http://elitetorrents.org/THIS SITE HAS BEEN PERMANENTLY SHUT DOWN BYTHE FEDERAL BUREAU OF INVESTIGATION ANDU.S. IMMIGRATION AND CUSTOMS ENFORCEMENTIndividuals involved in the operation and use ofthe Elite Torrents network are under investigationfor criminal copyright infringementIt is unlawful to reproduce or distribute copyrighted material, such as movies, music,software or games, without authorization - even when done for free over the Internet.Individuals who willfully distribute or download copyrighted material risk criminalprosecution under 18 U.S.C. 2319. First-time offenders convicted of criminal felonycopyright laws will face up to five years in federal prison, restitution, forfeiture and a fine. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nsane Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 It is unlawful to reproduce or distribute copyrighted material, such as movies, music,software or games, without authorization - even when done for free over the Internet.Individuals who willfully distribute or download copyrighted material risk criminalprosecution under 18 U.S.C. 2319. First-time offenders convicted of criminal felonycopyright laws will face up to five years in federal prison, restitution, forfeiture and a fine.While first time rapists only get 2 years probation and their name put on stupid list. And, while 16-year old gangsters only get 3-4 years for murdering someone. Real fair system...for downloading a fucking movie...btw, anyone notice this at the very bottom of the site?RTJKJAS:rolleyes:maybe it means...ReallyThoughJustKidding...JustASomething Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erRor67 Posted May 26, 2005 Share Posted May 26, 2005 yeah, i noticed it.. I couldnt really make an interesting acroym out of it though.. :rolleyes:Rick Thomas Just Kicked Jackson's Ass Sucker!Lol, best I could come up with in 10 seconds... ;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zeus_Hunt Posted May 27, 2005 Share Posted May 27, 2005 The FBI has announced yesterday that it has shut down the P2P network Elitetorrents.org because let film fans illegally download the new Star Wars movie before it reached cinemas.The "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith" bopped on the p2p network more than six hours before it appeared in cinemas. The authorities claim that over the following 24 hours, the movie was downloaded more than 10,000 times. The Federal Bureau also took control of the main server and posted the message "This Site Has been Permanently Shut Down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement"More then 133,000 users download thousands of films and software programs every day. The Motion Picture Association of America (MPAA) estimates that movie piracy cost the film industry $3.5bn last year. A spokesman from MPAA said : "bad news for Internet thieves and good news for preserving the magic of the movies".Now we know y it was shut down ;) :rolleyes: Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Broke As Hell Posted June 3, 2005 Share Posted June 3, 2005 And this is why you should never admin a site for torrents.I did that for a month before, I didn't like it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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