Tech | January 22, 2012 | 15 comments

Why the feds smashed Megaupload

source: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/why-the-feds-smashed-megaupload.ars

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The US government dropped a nuclear bomb on "cyberlocker" site Megaupload today, seizing its domain names, grabbing $50 million in assets, and getting New Zealand police to arrest four of the site's key employees, including enigmatic founder Kim Dotcom. In a 72-page indictment unsealed in a Virginia federal court, prosecutors charged that the site earned more than $175 million since its founding in 2005, most of it based on copyright infringement.

As for the site's employees, they were paid lavishly and they spent lavishly. Even the graphic designer, 35-year-old Slovakian resident Julius Bencko, made more than $1 million in 2010 alone.

The indictment goes after six individuals, who between them owned 14 Mercedes-Benz automobiles with license plates such as "POLICE," "MAFIA," "V," "STONED," "CEO," "HACKER," GOOD," "EVIL," and—perhaps presciently—"GUILTY." The group also had a 2010 Maserati, a 2008 Rolls-Royce, and a 1989 Lamborghini. They had not one but three Samsung 83" TVs, and two Sharp 108" TVs. Someone owned a "Predator statue." Motor bikes, jet skis, artwork, and even 60 Dell servers could all be forfeit to the government if it can prove its case against the members of the "Mega Conspiracy."

The case is a major one, involving international cooperation between the US, Hong Kong, the Netherlands, the UK, Germany, Canada, and the Philippines. In addition to the arrests, 20 search warrants were executed today in multiple countries.


More at: http://arstechnica.com/tech-policy/news/2012/01/why-the-feds-smashed-megaupload....
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15 comments // Why the feds smashed Megaupload

  • Saladin
    • +1
      Saladin  

    • They're being made into an example, why I don't know. Clearly they pissed someone off, because all of the allegations against them aren't even a big deal.

      We need to fight not just the SOPA mentality, but this ridiculous hyper-protection of IP, as if watching an episode of a show online that isn't available anywhere else is tantamount to "theft" or worse.

      It's ridiculous, especially since the majority of Megaupload's stuff was legit. I used them all the time to send files to friends or to upload work to other places. People who used them for piracy are chumps seeing as how there's ten dozen easier, better and faster ways to access pirated content.

      The DoJ is clueless. If they think this will affect piracy in any way they're fooling themselves. The only people this is affecting are the clueless and the computer illiterate who don't know how any of this stuff works.

    • 4 months ago
  • remanns
  • Incredulous
    • +1
      Incredulous  

    • there are things one can do to download music without sites like Megaupload....nobody is making any money, and it's not like the Fed is going to go out there and bust every joe dirt who puts his music files online....seriously, who needs Megaupload anyway?

    • 4 months ago
  • remanns
    • +1
      remanns  
    • Incredulous:

      They had some good old school RPG material that is out of print and f- ing hard to find. Just sayin.

      ( I own hard copies of most of it,.....but the pdf's aren't buried in boxes under boxes ! )

    • 4 months ago
  • Incredulous
    • +1
      Incredulous  
    • remanns:

      ahhh, yes, I guess that would have made them pretty valuable, but still, I think the Feds busting them had more to do with the fact that they were making money than that they were dealing with copyrighted material...imho.

    • 4 months ago
  • remanns
  • Anonmaly
  • Anonmaly
  • Anonmaly
  • Anonmaly
    • 0
      Anonmaly  

    • And "Anonymous" stands in defense of Megaupload due to the fact it's one of the largest easiest to access centralized group of servers to go through when either wanting to wage DDoS bot-war... Or when looking for unwitting participants in DDoSing...

      They like to "back-door" a computer with a program (bot) that they can access and control remotely at will to do their bidding.... Megaupload makes it much easier to find "participants"....

      My only complaint is MANY people in some of their bot-nets don't have a fucking clue.....

    • 4 months ago
  • Anonmaly
    • 0
      Anonmaly  

    • More concerned with the NDAA, the long waged "war on drugs" and the guilt trips layed on by prohibitionists who like to deny the simple act of prohibition is what increased the murder rate by manufacturing a "bubble" in the drug market (not usage)....

      Hmm so many things to be concerned with.... Guess what? that staff at Megaupload are the 1%... I personally appreciate upon occasion watching something online, or maybe recording something that many years ago I would have been doing from a T.V. with a VCR anyway...

      But to really get into defending Megaupload.....? I'm missing the point and have heard the arguments about "as one goes they all go", and most of the sorted variations....

      I occasionally make music, I make music plenty of people appreciate... I often give it away, but that's my choice. If I chose to sell it whether it be for 50 cents a song or a 1$ if it's my artistic expression, my composition, and performance, I should have that right even if people don't like it... Or else what is the point in exerting the effort? I can play for myself and close friends just the same...

      So many other reasons for the anons to go on the offensive, and since they've been teaching and a growing like crazy there is no way to say who or which segment/demographic is behind it.... But I'm willing to bet mostly it was the younger crowd who think they have a point to make.... When they could very well be preventing good music from being distributed because people don't want to be your "musical slave", nor does everyone have the resources or want to tour obsessively, and we certainly don't all want major label "support".....

      "Anonymous" needs a suggestions box, a little more & better PR, and to answer important questions like "Do you guys own the factories making those stupid masks?"......

    • 4 months ago
  • rerushg
  • Radical_Centrist
    • +6
      Radical_Centrist  

    • "Does the government fear us? Or do we fear the government? When the people fear the government, tyranny has found victory. The federal government is our servant, not our master!"

    • 4 months ago
  • Itsbatman_Durr
  • Plue
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