US accuses cyber-piracy group of "massive" theft

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 1, 2006, 5:59 pm

Ack! Say it isn't so! *hides the teraserver*

CHICAGO (Reuters) - A secretive group of cyber-pirates stole copyrighted software, games and movies in what law enforcement authorities on Wednesday termed a "massive" theft for their own pleasure, not profit.

The indictments were announced by U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago against 19 members of the underground piracy group known as "RISCISO," led by Sean O'Toole, 26, of Perth, Australia.

Another member of the group implicated in the FBI's investigation, dubbed "Operation Jolly Roger," was Linda Waldron, 57, of Barbados. Extradition will be sought for both.

As many as 60 members of the group, many of whom work in the computer field and live across the United States, tapped into their tightly controlled computer servers loaded with stolen merchandise that would fill 23,000 compact discs and was valued at $6.5 million, prosecutors said. Initially, the stolen software was sent to servers set up overseas.

"This was not someone illegally downloading a song," Fitzgerald said in announcing the 15-count indictment charging conspiracy to commit copyright infringement and other charges. "These were copyright violations on a massive scale."

The secretive RISCISO group -- an acronym for Rise in Superior Couriering, plus the common file format ISO -- cracked expiration and encryption codes built into trial software available on the Internet, on computer games, and on first-run movies intended only for reviewers and screeners, prosecutors said.

An FBI agent in charge of the probe said group members apparently acted in part out of the "thrill" of breaking the codes and to use the stolen items themselves, and did not appear to have tried to profit financially from the theft. An informant helped the FBI crack the case.

All 19 face a charge of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement that carries a maximum sentence of five years in prison and a $250,000 fine, plus restitution, prosecutors said.

Animalor · Post by **Animalor** » February 1, 2006, 7:03 pm

*gasp* To GITMO with all of em for not making the Movie and Video game industry richer!

This is a blatent case of terrorism against capitalism!

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 1, 2006, 7:20 pm

Yeah.. at the end of the article they said something about their max sentence and the fine.. Plus restitution, wtf restitution could they possibly have to pay? Money to the FBI for paying 5 or 10 monkeys to fucking waste months of time on this case ?

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » February 1, 2006, 7:36 pm

While every 16 seconds or something someone is murdered and they are wasting time on crap like this...

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 1, 2006, 7:51 pm

It might be that the group was gettng a little to "professional" and storing the data in the United States.

My guess is that there won't be a huge crackdown and just that they don't want crack/pirate groups getting excessively large.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 1, 2006, 7:55 pm

Marbus wrote:While every 16 seconds or something someone is murdered and they are wasting time on crap like this...

Exactly.

dibit_eq · Post by **dibit_eq** » February 1, 2006, 8:13 pm

Most of the people mentioned in this group were from relatively modern areas of the world it seems. Even with the way technology is easy to access, most of software piracy that the US hates is done in the extremely poor third world countries which couldn't afford the pirated software/movies/etc in the first place. Then again, their governments are typically stretched thin that concerning themselves with what citizens are doing on a computer isn't worthwhile.

This is just an attempt at "making an example." Imo, I gotta admit they did a pretty effective job at organizing that amount of pirated material online though...

Truant · Post by **Truant** » February 1, 2006, 8:21 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:Yeah.. at the end of the article they said something about their max sentence and the fine.. Plus restitution, wtf restitution could they possibly have to pay? Money to the FBI for paying 5 or 10 monkeys to fucking waste months of time on this case ?

I would imagine by restitution they mean any damages they are forced to pay to the respective organizations whose copyrights they infringed. For example, paying the RIAA for mp3 distribution, MPAA for movie distribution. etc.

then again, THAT'S JUST MY GUESS.

Aslanna · Post by **Aslanna** » February 1, 2006, 8:26 pm

Marbus wrote:While every 16 seconds or something someone is murdered and they are wasting time on crap like this...

I'm all for 'evaluating' software but let's put things into perspective...

Crime is crime. You can't ignore one just because another more serious crime is being commited elsewhere.

Your statement also seems to imply that all criminal activity resources are all focused on this specific area which I doubt is the case. I'm fairly certain they have enough "monkeys" left over to deal with people engaging in other criminal activities.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 1, 2006, 8:27 pm

Right, but these guys in no way distributed the information from what I understand. I remember reading the copyright warnings at the beginning of movies and from what I recall the warning generally had more to do with distribution.

I could also be wrong as its been probably 8-10 years since ive read any of those warnings at the beginning of a movie.

miir · Post by **miir** » February 1, 2006, 10:36 pm

Marbus wrote:While every 16 seconds or something someone is murdered and they are wasting time on crap like this...

Yeah and why are they wasting time giving people speeding tickets and throwing people in prison for assault? And why do they waste time and taxpayers money investigating people like Ken Lay... I mean, it's not like he's not a real criminal. And why are there hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Iraq killing people for oil when they could be out there shooting murderers....

Crime is crime.

Exactly... and 6.5 million worth of stolen property is not what I would call a minor theft.

miir · Post by **miir** » February 1, 2006, 10:38 pm

I remember reading the copyright warnings at the beginning of movies and from what I recall the warning generally had more to do with distribution.

Good god man, your stupidity knows no bounds.

I'm totally fucking sure it's not ok to steal copyright material... even if you don't intend to distribute it.

noel · Post by **noel** » February 1, 2006, 11:05 pm

miir wrote:I'm totally fucking sure it's not ok to steal copyright material... even if you don't intend to distribute it.

ARE YOU SURE?!?!

Noysyrump · Post by **Noysyrump** » February 2, 2006, 12:23 am

Shit Miir went right winger on us? wtf?

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » February 2, 2006, 12:36 am

Marbus wrote:While every 16 seconds or something someone is murdered and they are wasting time on crap like this...

Relevance: zero.

Ashur · Post by **Ashur** » February 2, 2006, 12:38 am

Noysyrump wrote:Shit Miir went right winger on us? wtf?

Miir wrote:And why are there hundreds of thousands of soldiers in Iraq killing people for oil...

Um, no....

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » February 2, 2006, 2:42 am

They're chasing these guys for 6.5 million in digital information while the VIPs from Enron are chillin in thier mansions laughing thier fucking asses off at you, me, and our justice system.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 2, 2006, 11:03 am

Fairweather Pure wrote:They're chasing these guys for 6.5 million in digital information while the VIPs from Enron are chillin in thier mansions laughing thier fucking asses off at you, me, and our justice system.

Actually they are chilling in the courthouse now

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 2, 2006, 11:04 am

Funkmasterr wrote:Right, but these guys in no way distributed the information from what I understand. I remember reading the copyright warnings at the beginning of movies and from what I recall the warning generally had more to do with distribution.

I could also be wrong as its been probably 8-10 years since ive read any of those warnings at the beginning of a movie.

Read the original fucking post. It talks about them redistributing to other members of their "group."

Lynks · Post by **Lynks** » February 2, 2006, 11:26 am

New FBI warning wrote:"The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000."

Even if you don't sell it, you can't reproduce it without authorization.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 2, 2006, 11:27 am

Boogahz wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:Right, but these guys in no way distributed the information from what I understand. I remember reading the copyright warnings at the beginning of movies and from what I recall the warning generally had more to do with distribution.

I could also be wrong as its been probably 8-10 years since ive read any of those warnings at the beginning of a movie.

Read the original fucking post. It talks about them redistributing to other members of their "group."

They are all of the same group, and sending stuff between each other? I'm not talking about the people of this group that were all working to a common goal sending the stuff back and forth, im talking about distribution to people outside the group. Don't you think that in the time it most likely took them to build up all this shit they had, if they were going to attempt to profit from/mass distribute any of it they would have done so.

My point is yes, they broke the law. Yes something should be done about it. But I think they are making it sound like they broke into the fucking FBI mainframe..

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » February 2, 2006, 11:58 am

Actually they are chilling in the courthouse now

Check out the film "Enron: The Smartest Guys In The Room" and you'll see just how wrong you are. The majoriy of those crooks aren't even being charged.

Boogahz · Post by **Boogahz** » February 2, 2006, 12:35 pm

Funkmasterr wrote:
Boogahz wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:Right, but these guys in no way distributed the information from what I understand. I remember reading the copyright warnings at the beginning of movies and from what I recall the warning generally had more to do with distribution.

I could also be wrong as its been probably 8-10 years since ive read any of those warnings at the beginning of a movie.

Read the original fucking post. It talks about them redistributing to other members of their "group."
They are all of the same group, and sending stuff between each other? I'm not talking about the people of this group that were all working to a common goal sending the stuff back and forth, im talking about distribution to people outside the group. Don't you think that in the time it most likely took them to build up all this shit they had, if they were going to attempt to profit from/mass distribute any of it they would have done so.

You don't have to SELL the software for it to be illegal, but the sale of it could help determine what kind of sentence you receive. It also doesn't matter if you are distributing it to your neighbor, best friend, co-worker, or a stranger on the other side of the world. All you have to do is "distribute" a copy for one person and you have broken the law. The chances of being charged/arrested for that one copy might be negligible, but it is just as illegal. Maybe I am doing my math wrong, but doesn't it say that they had amassed around 17 Tb worth of info?

Maybe this might help:
Distribute
1) To divide and dispense in portions
2) a) To supply (goods) to retailers.
b) To deliver or pass out: distributing handbills on the street

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 2, 2006, 1:30 pm

Boogahz wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:
Boogahz wrote:
Funkmasterr wrote:Right, but these guys in no way distributed the information from what I understand. I remember reading the copyright warnings at the beginning of movies and from what I recall the warning generally had more to do with distribution.

I could also be wrong as its been probably 8-10 years since ive read any of those warnings at the beginning of a movie.

Read the original fucking post. It talks about them redistributing to other members of their "group."
They are all of the same group, and sending stuff between each other? I'm not talking about the people of this group that were all working to a common goal sending the stuff back and forth, im talking about distribution to people outside the group. Don't you think that in the time it most likely took them to build up all this shit they had, if they were going to attempt to profit from/mass distribute any of it they would have done so.
You don't have to SELL the software for it to be illegal, but the sale of it could help determine what kind of sentence you receive. It also doesn't matter if you are distributing it to your neighbor, best friend, co-worker, or a stranger on the other side of the world. All you have to do is "distribute" a copy for one person and you have broken the law. The chances of being charged/arrested for that one copy might be negligible, but it is just as illegal. Maybe I am doing my math wrong, but doesn't it say that they had amassed around 17 Tb worth of info?

Maybe this might help:
Distribute
1) To divide and dispense in portions
2) a) To supply (goods) to retailers.
b) To deliver or pass out: distributing handbills on the street

I see your point, and I'm not necessarily disagreeing with you. The point im making is they kept this internal, and illegal as it obviously is the damage couldn't have been smaller(even though the amount was large). I am assuming they recovered everything the guys in this group had, and no one else received it, no money was made by the group or lost by the corporations.

Yes they should have consequences, but I think they should be close to the low end of the sentence range, and I also think having the FBI taskforce go full throttle might have been excessive.

Post by **Sylvus** » February 2, 2006, 1:39 pm

They absolutely were distributing this stuff outside of people in their own group, in a very large scale. What they weren't doing is collecting money for their services.

Unless there are multiple cracking and/or courier groups that use "Rise in Superior Couriering" as part of their name, I have seen plenty of releases that they were involved in.

Marbus · Post by **Marbus** » February 2, 2006, 1:40 pm

Look, I'm not saying we shouldn't punish all crime or that this is irrelevant just because people are murdered. However we continually seem to cut police benefits, have few cops, most make terrible salaries yet our governemnt is funding big opertaions like this while "seemingly" missing other things.

It's just like people getting 25 years for a bag of weed and 5-10 for manslaughter... doesn't make sense to me.

Marb

miir · Post by **miir** » February 2, 2006, 1:41 pm

Welcome to the bizarro world of Funkmasterr where it's OK to steal millions of dollars worth of shit as long as you don't make any money on it.

Funkmasterr · Post by **Funkmasterr** » February 2, 2006, 1:51 pm

Marbus wrote:Look, I'm not saying we shouldn't punish all crime or that this is irrelevant just because people are murdered. However we continually seem to cut police benefits, have few cops, most make terrible salaries yet our governemnt is funding big opertaions like this while "seemingly" missing other things.

It's just like people getting 25 years for a bag of weed and 5-10 for manslaughter... doesn't make sense to me.

Marb

Pretty much my thoughts marb. They have cut the Police force down considerably in Minneapolis, and I have seen news stories of major car accidents called in.. One was actually a hit and run that was caught on video with license plate numbers and everything, and when they called it into the Minneapolis police department they were told they werent currently responding to hit and runs... Yet there is a speed trap set up ever mile or so on every highway in the state.

I'm just using this as a example, I realize its not the best analogy but I think you can get my drift.

Sabek · Post by **Sabek** » February 2, 2006, 4:14 pm

Sylvus wrote:They absolutely were distributing this stuff outside of people in their own group, in a very large scale. What they weren't doing is collecting money for their services.

Unless there are multiple cracking and/or courier groups that use "Rise in Superior Couriering" as part of their name, I have seen plenty of releases that they were involved in.

Exactly unless things have changed in the intervening years since I was involved in the "leet underground scene" a courier groups purpose was to get the leet 0 day warez out to all the sites as quickly as possible. Hence distributing it outside of themselves.

Winnow · Post by **Winnow** » February 2, 2006, 5:30 pm

You'll never catch me!

Fairweather Pure · Post by **Fairweather Pure** » February 4, 2006, 5:33 am

Yes, police forces are being downsized across the country, but look on the brightside, Bush wants another $120,000,000,000 (that's Billion) for the war in Iraq LOLZ!

Go Bush!

Kelshara · Post by **Kelshara** » February 4, 2006, 11:07 am

Lynks wrote:
New FBI warning wrote:"The unauthorized reproduction or distribution of this copyrighted work is illegal. Criminal copyright infringement, including infringement without monetary gain, is investigated by the FBI and is punishable by up to five years in federal prison and a fine of $250,000."
Even if you don't sell it, you can't reproduce it without authorization.

Depends on where you live. Here RIAA lost the court case that Norwegians can not break the copyright protection to make copies for your own use. It was also deemed legal to break the Apple protection so you could play their songs on non-iPods.

There are some gray areas they are still exploring here. Back in the LP days it was considered legal to make a copy of a LP you owned and give it to close family members. Pretty interesting laws heh.

But yeah, distributing in large quantities is of course illegal.

I must admit I had to laugh when I read what Warner is planning to do: Set up their own distribution net for torrents where you have to pay to download a file. The kicker? The release date would be the same as DVDs and you would pay the same as if you bought the DVD! So they would have all the income and none of the expenses of DVD production. Idiots.

Zaelath · Post by **Zaelath** » February 4, 2006, 11:40 am

And no doubt at lower quality, cause you know, people are happy enough to buy CD's and be forced to listen to a crappy 128 bit version compressed through a stolen LAME encoder on their computers....