UK Anti-Piracy Firm E-mails Reveal Cavalier Attitude Toward Legal Threats 200
Khyber writes "A recent DDoS attack against a UK-based anti-pirating firm, ACS:Law, has resulted in a large backup archive of the server contents being made available for download, [and this archive] is now being hosted by the Pirate Bay. Within this archive are e-mails from Andrew Crossley basically admitting that he is running a scam job, sending out thousands of frivolous legal threats on the premise that a percentage pay up immediately to avoid legal hassles."
The DOS did cause leak. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:has resulted? (Score:5, Informative)
The DDoS brought their servers down. They went down in flames so ACS:Law had to reinstall everything and their idiot admin exposed their entire website (mostly tons of confidential information) to the public. I downloaded it myself, the file is called backup-8.24.2010_12-58-28_acslawor and the shit I found in it was very scarry. If it wasn't for the DDoS, we wouldn't have gotten our hands on this file. Go die somewhere and stop posting shit you don't know anything about.
Re:Wow. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Wow. (Score:5, Informative)
Also, given that they claim to have "forensic computer evidence" when they do not (sorry, a date and time from a server log, without the hard disk in the server being removed to preserve the "evidence", and a proper chain of custody, is not "forensic evidence").
This is why BritGov is investigating them.
Re:As many suspected. (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Wow. - Extortion vs Coercion (Score:2, Informative)
There is a difference!
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Extortion [wikipedia.org]
Extortion, outwresting, and/or exaction is a criminal offense which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person(s), entity, or institution, through coercion.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coercion [wikipedia.org] /korn/) is the practice of forcing another party to behave in an involuntary manner (whether through action or inaction) by use of threats, intimidation, trickery, or some other form of pressure or force. Such actions are used as leverage, to force the victim to act in the desired way.
Coercion (pronounced
Re:...deliberately does not target TalkTalk or Vir (Score:3, Informative)
Re:Not just piracy... (Score:4, Informative)
Its been a scam for longer than the internet has been around.
Re:Wow. - Extortion vs Coercion (Score:5, Informative)
Perhaps there's a difference legally, but I don't see any difference for the common man.
"Pay us $5000 or else be prosecuted," is extortion in my mind, especially since it involves money. The law firms are acting like members of The Family. "Pay us money or else we'll rough you up."
Re:Wow. - Extortion vs Coercion (Score:4, Informative)
Stores had a policy of catching teen-age shoplifters, then sending their parents a demand letter saying they wanted $300 for some nebulous "costs". The judges rightfully threw it out. When someone does you harm, you're entitled to be compensated. You may even be entitled to exemplary damages. However, unless there's an amount that is set by statute (which is why they're known as "statutory damages"), you can't just "pull a number out of the air."
Trying to get what you, as a lawyer, should know the law does not allow, is extortion because your threat of legal action is being used to commit a crime. You no longer enjoy the "except threat of legal action" exemption.
Re:Pointless. (Score:2, Informative)
Correct legal terminology (Score:5, Informative)
I'd probably send a "fuck off" reply
Please, if you are replying to a legal letter the correct response is "I refer you to the reply given in the case of Arkell v. Pressdram [wikipedia.org]".
Re:Pointless. (Score:3, Informative)
And probably all rendered inadmissible in court because they were obtained illegally.
Bullpocky. They posted it to a public server, even if it was through incompetence. They're being presented in courts as technical experts, so that little detail should be absolutely no defense.
Re:...deliberately does not target TalkTalk or Vir (Score:2, Informative)
Re:Privacy, there must be a law? (Score:4, Informative)
Re:Wow. (Score:3, Informative)
http://www.businessdictionary.com/definition/forensic-evidence.html [businessdictionary.com]
A letter from BT is NOT "forensic evidence". http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/Forensic+analysis [thefreedictionary.com]
Again, a letter from BT is not "forensic evidence", any more than a letter from YOU would be. By itself, it proves nothing, and can't even be used as evidence.
Re:Wow. - Extortion vs Coercion (Score:3, Informative)
Heck, you don't even need to have a real gun.
You don't even have to have a fake gun.
Just the act of saying "I have a gun" is sufficient to be charged with armed robbery once they give you the money.
Re:Wow. - Extortion vs Coercion (Score:3, Informative)
However, when they step beyond the bounds of the law - for example, threatening to sue for monetary damages without actually being able to show any monetary damages OR statutory damages, and falsely claim to have forensic evidence, when the server logs in question were not yet properly analysed (sorry, but saying that a log shows that ip 11.22.33.44 was used at such-and-such a date, without any analysis having been performed to see if the date and time are correct, that the traffic transmitted was actually the content in question, and that the ip matched that person's computer (not their account), and falsely claiming that it is illegal to have an open wifi connection, they are now into extortion.
It's why they're being investigated.
Re:Wow. - Extortion vs Coercion (Score:4, Informative)
Well let me point this out from Canada. In Canada coercion is illegal(unless it falls under a very limited set of exclusionary rules), and extortion is illegal. Don't do it, don't do it at all here. We will come down on you hard.
Re:has resulted? (Score:3, Informative)
The fact they left it wholly unencrypted is one of the purest violations of the UK DPA.
Disbarment, plus jail time, is likely.