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{{Infobox company
'''MediaDefender''' is a company full of anti-social douchebags which offers services designed to prevent and stop people who engage in [[peer-to-peer]] [[copyright infringement]], using tactics such as flooding peer-to-peer networks with decoy files that tie up a user's computer<ref>[http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17345485/ Advertising to the File-Sharing Crowd]</ref>. MediaDefender is based in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]] [[California]] in the [[United States]], and its president is [[Randy Saaf]]. MediaDefender has approximately 60 employees<ref>[http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/mediadefender.ars]</ref>.
| name = MediaDefender, Inc.
| logo =
| caption =
| type =
| genre =
| fate =
| predecessor =
| successor = [[Peer Media Technologies]]
| foundation = 2000
| founder = [[Randy Saaf]]
| defunct = 2009
| location_city = [[Los Angeles]]
| location_country = [[California]], [[United States]]
| area_served =
| key_people = [[Randy Saaf]], [[Octavio Herrera]]
| industry = Copyright enforcement
| products =
| production =
| services =
| revenue =
| operating_income =
| net_income =
| aum =
| assets =
| equity =
| owner =
| num_employees =
| parent = [[Artistdirect]] <small>(August 2005-)</small>
| divisions =
| subsid =
| homepage = [http://www.mediadefender.com/ www.mediadefender.com]
| footnotes =
| intl =
}}
'''MediaDefender, Inc.''' was a company that offered services designed to prevent alleged [[copyright infringement]] using [[peer-to-peer]] distribution. They were controversial because of their use of unusual tactics such as flooding peer-to-peer networks with decoy files that tie up users' computers and bandwidth.<ref>Holahan, Catherine (March 5, 2007). "[http://www.americasnetwork.com/americasnetwork/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=408804 Advertising to the File-Sharing Crowd]" ''[[BusinessWeek]]''. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.</ref> MediaDefender is based in [[Los Angeles, California|Los Angeles]], [[California]] in the [[United States]]. As of March 2007, the company has approximately 60 employees,<ref name="ArsTechnica3-18-2007">Anderson, Nate (March 18, 2007). "[http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/mediadefender.ars Peer-to-peer poisoners: A tour of MediaDefender]". [[Ars Technica]]. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.</ref> and uses 2,000 [[server (computing)|server]]s hosted in California with contracts for 9 [[Gbit/s]] of bandwidth.<ref name="ArsTechnica3-18-2007"/>


⚫
These types of organizations are being hired to attempt to stymie peer-to-peer (P2P) traders through a variety of methods including posting fake files online, recording individuals who contribute copyrighted material, but also [[marketing]] to individuals using P2P networks.<ref>Angwin, Julia, McBride, Sarah, and Smith, Ethan (October 18, 2006). "[http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116113611429796022-_5EZVscJYWWFqv1AmPvXCiOjJms_20071018.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top Record Labels Turn Piracy Into a Marketing Opportunity]". ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. Retrieved on September 16 2007.</ref> Clients include [[Universal Pictures]], [[20th Century Fox]], [[Virgin Records]], [[HBO]], [[Paramount Pictures]], and [[BMG]]{{Citation needed|date=September 2009}}. On August 1, 2005, the digital media entertainment company [[ARTISTdirect]] announced that it had acquired MediaDefender for $42.5 million in cash.
Money, money, money, money, I would ruin some kids life who downloaded music for personal use if I got some mother fucking money!


In May 2008, MediaDefender performed a [[Denial-of-service attack|distributed-denial-of-service]] attack on [[Revision3]], despite the fact that they were not hosting pirated materials. Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO charged that these attacks violated the [[Economic Espionage Act]] and the [[Computer Fraud and Abuse Act]]. As of May 2008, the [[Federal Bureau of Investigation]] was investigating the incident.<ref>
⚫
Increasingly these type of organizations are being hired to stymie P2P traders through a variety of methods including: posting fake files online, recording individuals who contribute copyrighted material, etc. Key clients include Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Virgin Records, HBO, Paramount Pictures, and BMG <ref>[http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB116113611429796022-_5EZVscJYWWFqv1AmPvXCiOjJms_20071018.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top "Record Labels Turn Piracy Into a Marketing Opportunity"]</ref>.
{{cite web
|url=http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20080529-revision3-ceo-blackout-caused-by-mediadefender-attack.html
|title=Revision3 CEO: Blackout caused by MediaDefender attack
|publisher=arstechnica.com
|accessdate=2008-05-30
}}
</ref>


In August 2009, [[ARTISTdirect]] restructured [[MediaDefender]] and [[MediaSentry]], creating [[Peer Media Technologies]].
On August 1, 2005, [[ARTISTdirect]] announced that it had acquired MediaDefender for $42.5 million in cash. MediaDefender is estimated to have between 2,000 and 6,000 [[server (computing)|server]]s <ref>[http://arstechnica.com/articles/culture/mediadefender.ars A war of attrition]</ref> using 9 GB/s of bandwidth and hosted in California.


==Miivi.com==
==Miivi.com==
In February 2007, MediaDefender launched a video sharing site called '''Miivi.com'''. On July 4, 2007, file-sharing news site '''p2pnet''' alleged that Miivi.com was created to trap uploaders of copyrighted content.<ref>[http://www.p2pnet.net/story/12683 "MediaDefender ‘miivi.com’ scam"] ''P2PNet''</ref><ref>[http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/13480/mpaa_dummy_site_snares_pirates "MPAA Dummy Site Snares Pirates"] ''DigitalTrends.com''</ref> The site's origins were discovered by a blogger who looked up Miivi.com domain registration information.<ref>[http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8877/Gotcha!+New+MPAA+Site+Tries+to+Trick+Users+into+Illegally+Downloading+Movies "Domain Registration Information"]</ref> After the allegation was re-posted throughout the [[blogosphere]], Miivi.com was shut down on July 4, 2007.<ref>[http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8880/Fake+MPAA+Video+Download+Site+Goes+Offline "Miivi.com goes down"]</ref> MediaDefender denied further allegations that it was trying to convict anyone. In an interview with [[Ars Technica]], a MediaDefender employee claimed that "MediaDefender was working on an internal project that involved video and didn't realize that people would be trying to go to it and so we didn't password-protect the site." MediaDefender blamed file-sharing groups such as [[The Pirate Bay]] for starting the story.<ref>[http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070706-mediadefender-denies-entrapment-accusations-with-fake-torrent-site.html"MediaDefender denies miivi.com allegations"]</ref> When questioned, the MPAA denied any involvement with MediaDefender.<ref>[http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8886/MPAA+%26+MediaDefender+Respond+to+Exposure+of+Fake+Video+Download+Site"MPAA denies involvement with MediaDefender"]</ref> On September 14, 2007, internal emails from MediaDefender were leaked to [[The Pirate Bay]], appearing to indicate that Miivi.com was created to catch potential [[copyright]] violators, was closed when this fact became public knowledge, and was scheduled to be re-launched as '''www.viide.com''' (as of September 15, 2007, viide.com has not been opened up to the public). Part of the campaign to suppress the leak involved alterations to their Wikipedia page, as shown by "Ben E: Can you please do what you can to eliminate this entry? Let me know if you have any success. R".
In February 2007, MediaDefender launched a video sharing site called Miivi.com. On [[July 4]], 2007, file-sharing news site [[TorrentFreak]] alleged that Miivi.com was created to trap uploaders of copyrighted content.<ref name="TorrentFreak-Anti-PiracyGang">"[http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-gang-launches-their-own-video-download-site-to-trap-people/ Anti-Piracy Gang Launches their own Video Download Site to Trap People]". [[July 4]] 2007. TorrentFreak. Retrieved on September 17 2007.</ref><ref>[http://news.digitaltrends.com/news/story/13480/mpaa_dummy_site_snares_pirates "MPAA Dummy Site Snares Pirates"] ''DigitalTrends.com''</ref> The site's origins were discovered by a [[blogger]] who looked up Miivi.com [[domain registration]] information.<ref>[http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8877/Gotcha!+New+MPAA+Site+Tries+to+Trick+Users+into+Illegally+Downloading+Movies "Domain Registration Information"]</ref>


After the allegation was re-posted throughout the [[blogosphere]], Miivi.com was shut down on [[July 4]], 2007.<ref>[http://www.zeropaid.com/news/8880/Fake+MPAA+Video+Download+Site+Goes+Offline "Miivi.com goes down"]</ref> In an interview with [[Ars Technica]], chief executive [[Randy Saaf]] stated that "MediaDefender was working on an internal project that involved video and didn't realize that people would be trying to go to it and so we didn't password-protect the site".<ref name="ArsTechnicaJuly6">Cheng, Jacqui ([[July 6]] 2007). "[http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070706-mediadefender-denies-entrapment-accusations-with-fake-torrent-site.html MediaDefender denies entrapment accusations with fake torrent site]". [[Ars Technica]]. Retrieved on September 16 2007.</ref> MediaDefender blamed file-sharing groups such as [[The Pirate Bay]] for starting the story.<ref name="ArsTechnicaJuly6"/> Following MediaDefender's subsequent email leak, TorrentFreak alleged that MediaDefender's statement was revealed to be a deliberate falsehood.<ref name="TorrentFreak-TheBiggestEver">"[http://torrentfreak.com/mediadefender-emails-leaked-070915/ The Biggest Ever BitTorrent Leak: MediaDefender Internal Emails Go Public]". September 15 2007. TorrentFreak. Retrieved on September 16 2007.</ref> Saaf denied that MiiVi was "a devious product" and that the company aimed to entrap users, stating only that it was part of MediaDefender's "trade secrets."<ref>McBride, Sarah (September 17 2007). "[http://www.moneyweb.co.za/mw/view/mw/en/page94?oid=161203&sn=Detail Antipiracy group suffers email leak]". ''[[The Wall Street Journal]]''. Retrieved on September 16 2007.</ref>
==Email leak==


The [[MPAA]] denied any involvement with MediaDefender.<ref name="ArsTechnicaJuly6"/> On September 14, 2007, internal emails from MediaDefender were leaked on to [[BitTorrent (protocol)|BitTorrent]] file sharing networks, which contradicted MediaDefender's claims of MiiVi being an "internal test site," revealing additional detailed information about the website and that the site was closed when the connection between it and MediaDefender became public knowledge. It was scheduled to be re-launched as www.viide.com, but has not yet been opened up to the public.<ref name="TorrentFreak-Anti-PiracyGang"/>
On September 14, 2007, thousands of the company's internal emails were leaked, containing information contradicting previous statements and details of strategies intended to deceive pirates. The emails link MediaDefender to projects that management previously denied involvement in, confirm speculation that MiiVi.com was an anti-piracy [[Honeypot_%28computing%29|honeypot]] site, discuss responses to unexpected and negative press, and expose upcoming projects, problems in and around the office, [[Domino's]] pizza orders, and other personal information about employees. Beyond strategic information, the leak also exposed login information for FTP and MySQL servers, making available a large library of MP3 files likely including artists represented by MediaDefender's clients. As of September 15, 2007 there has been no official response from the company. <ref>[http://torrentfreak.com/mediadefender-emails-leaked-070915/"The Biggest Ever BitTorrent Leak: MediaDefender Internal Emails Go Public"]</ref>


== Leaked information ==
You can find all of the emails by going to http://gwon.eu/md/threads.html
Beginning on September 14, 2007, MediaDefender experienced a security breach caused by a group of crackers led by high school student "Ethan". This group called themselves MediaDefender-Defenders. <ref>[http://www.portfolio.com/news-markets/national-news/portfolio/2008/01/14/Media-Defenders-Profile?print=true Media Defenders Profile - National Business News - Print - Portfolio.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> According to an SEC filing, this ultimately cost parent company [[ARTISTdirect]] at least $825,000.<ref>[http://www.irconnect.com/mc/irc/secfilings.mc?cmd=disp&id=5543752&type=HTML ARTISTDIRECT INC (Form: 10QSB, Received: 11/14/2007 16:07:22)<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> The breach included emails, a phone conversation, and a number of internal anti-piracy tools, including some source code.


==See also==
===Leaked e-mails===
On September 14, 2007, 6,621 of the company's internal [[e-mail]]s were leaked, containing information contradicting previous statements and details of strategies intended to deceive copyright infringers. The emails link MediaDefender to projects that management previously denied involvement in. The [[Associated Press]] and other media outlets suggest that the leak may confirm speculation that MiiVi.com was an anti-copyright infringement "[[Honeypot (computing)|honeypot]]" site.<ref name="AssociatedPress9-18-2007">Veiga, Alex (September 18 2007). "[http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/computersecurity/hacking/2007-09-18-mediadefender-leak_N.htm?csp=34 Hackers leak anti-piracy firm's e-mails]". [[Associated Press]]. Retrieved on September 19 2007.</ref><ref name="SCMagazine">Carr, Jim (September 18 2007). "[http://www.scmagazineus.com/Stolen-emails-reveal-anti-piracy-companys-honeypot-strategy/article/35701/ Stolen emails reveal anti-copyright infringement company's 'honeypot' strategy]". ''SC Magazine US''. Retrieved on September 19 2007.</ref> One e-mail suggests using the [[MiiVi]] client program to turn users' PCs into drones for MediaDefender's [[eMule]] spoofing activities. The leaked e-mails discuss responses to unexpected and negative press, and expose upcoming projects, problems in and around the office, [[Domino's]] pizza orders, and other personal information about employees. Beyond strategic information, the leak also exposed login information for [[FTP]] and [[MySQL]] servers, making available a large library of [[MP3]] files likely including artists represented by MediaDefender's clients. The emails also revealed that MediaDefender probably was negotiating with the New York Attorney General's office to allow them access to information about users accessing pornographic material.<ref name="ArsTechnicaSep16" /> As of September 15, 2007, there has been no official response from the company.<ref name="TorrentFreak-TheBiggestEver"/> However, evidence exists that MediaDefender has been employing both legal and illegal actions to remove copies of the leaked emails from their respective hosting sites. In addition to the usual [[cease and desist|cease-and-desist letters]] from their legal department, IP addresses that are owned by MediaDefender were found to have been used in [[denial-of-service attack]]s against sites hosting the leaked emails.<ref>[http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070919-p2p-sites-ridicule-mediadefender-takedown-notices-in-wake-of-e-mail-leak.html P2P sites ridicule MediaDefender takedown notices in wake of e-mail leak] arstechnica.com</ref>
⚫
*[[Copyright social conflict]]


The e-mails also revealed direction by MediaDefender founder Randy Saaf to have developer Ben Ebert attempt to eliminate the information about MiiVi from MediaDefender's [[Wikipedia]] entry.<ref name="ArsTechnicaSep16">[http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070916-leaked-media-defender-e-mails-reveal-secret-government-project.html Leaked Media Defender e-mails reveal secret government project]</ref> Ebert responds in an email on the same day saying, "I will attempt to get all {{sic|referenes}} to miivi removed from wiki. I should easily be able to get It contested. We'll see if I can get rid of it."<ref name="MediaDefenderEmail">[http://www.mediadefender-defenders.com/msg03754.html Re: MiiVi got Dugg<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>
⚫
==References==

=== Leaked phone conversation ===
On September 16, 2007, MediaDefender-Defenders released a 25 minute excerpt of a phone conversation between the [[New York State Attorney General|New York Attorney General's]] office and MediaDefender as a [[BitTorrent (protocol)|torrent]] on [[The Pirate Bay]]. MediaDefender-Defenders claims in information released with the phone conversation that they have infiltrated the "internals" of the company.<ref>[http://torrentfreak.com/more-mediadefender-leaks-070916/ MediaDefender Phone Call and Gnutella Tracking Database Leaked]</ref>

===Leaked source code===
On September 20, 2007, MediaDefender-Defenders released the source code of TrapperKeeper, MediaDefender's decoy systems on [[The Pirate Bay]].<ref>[http://torrentfreak.com/mediadefender-anti-piracy-tools-leaked-070920/ MediaDefender Anti-Piracy Tools Leaked]</ref> A large chunk of MediaDefender's [[software]] was available by Bittorrent.<ref>[http://www.theinquirer.net/?article=42516 MediaDefender source code leaked to wibble]</ref>

==Revision3 controversy==
[[Revision3]] is an [[Internet television|Internet television network]] which distributes video content legally through various means, including the BitTorrent protocol. During the [[Memorial Day]] weekend in 2008, Revision3 came under a [[Denial of Service]] attack originating from MediaDefender IP addresses. The attack left the company's service inaccessible until mid-Tuesday the following week. Revision3 CEO [[Jim Louderback]] accused MediaDefender of injecting its decoy files into Revision3's BitTorrent service through a [[Vulnerability (computing)|vulnerability]], then automatically perpetrating the attack after Revision3 increased security.<ref>[http://revision3.com/blog/2008/05/29/inside-the-attack-that-crippled-revision3 Inside the Attack that Crippled Revision3]</ref><ref>[http://www.latimes.com/technology/la-fi-outage30-2008may30,0,4328786.story Anti-piracy misfire blamed for crash of popular online TV network]</ref>

Randy Saaf defended MediaDefender's actions by stating "Our systems were targeting a tracker not even knowing it was Revision3's tracker", adding that the denial-of-service attack resulted when "Revision3 changed some configurations" to their bittorrent tracker <ref>[http://blog.wired.com/27bstroke6/2008/05/mediadefender-d.html?cid=117123750 MediaDefender Defends Revision3 SYN Attack]</ref>

== See also ==
⚫
* [[Copyright social conflict]]
* [[Cyberterrorism]]
* [[BayTSP]]
* [[MediaSentry]]
* [[Streisand effect]]

⚫
== References ==
{{reflist}}
{{reflist}}


== External links ==
== External links ==

* [http://www.mediadefender.com/ MediaDefender's Official Website]
* [http://www.mediadefender.com/ MediaDefender's Official Website]
* [http://www.dslreports.com/forum/r19629941-Net2EZ-owned-by-MediaDefender Net2EZ owned by Media Defender]
* [http://www.mediadefender.com/press%20about%20MD/latimes_1_7_04.htm LA Times article about Piracy, with a quote from Randy Saaf].
* [http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070916-leaked-media-defender-e-mails-reveal-secret-government-project.html "Leaked Media Defender e-mails reveal secret government project"] - Arstechnica
* [http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-caught-uploading-fake-torrents/ "MPAA Caught Uploading Fake Torrents"] &mdash; ''TorrentFreak'' (IP addresses of fake torrents traced back to MediaDefender)
* [http://torrentfreak.com/mpaa-caught-uploading-fake-torrents/ "MPAA Caught Uploading Fake Torrents"] &mdash; ''TorrentFreak'' (IP addresses of fake torrents traced back to MediaDefender)
* [http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-gang-launches-their-own-video-download-site-to-trap-people/ "Anti-Piracy Gang Launches their own Video Download Site to Trap People"] &mdash; ''TorrentFreak'' (The domain registration of a fake video upload / download service called ''miivi'' has been traced to MediaDefender).
* [http://torrentfreak.com/anti-piracy-gang-launches-their-own-video-download-site-to-trap-people/ "Anti-Piracy Gang Launches their own Video Download Site to Trap People"] &mdash; ''TorrentFreak'' (The domain registration of a fake video upload/download service called ''miivi'' has been traced to MediaDefender.)
* [http://torrentfreak.com/mediadefender-emails-leaked-070915/ Article about email leak at TorrentFreak]
* [http://torrentfreak.com/mediadefender-emails-leaked-070915/ Torrent Freak article about the 9/14/2007 Media Defender internal email leak]
* [http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070919-p2p-sites-ridicule-mediadefender-takedown-notices-in-wake-of-e-mail-leak.html P2P sites ridicule MediaDefender takedown notices in wake of e-mail leak]
* [http://torrentfreak.com/mediadefender-anti-piracy-tools-leaked-070920/ Post of a list of leaked Programs.]
* [http://torrentfreak.com/mediadefender-parent-company-facing-liquidation-080226/ Torrentfreak's article on Media defender problems]


{{DEFAULTSORT:Mediadefender}}
[[Category:Copyright enforcement companies]]
[[Category:Cybercrime]]
[[Category:Intellectual property law]]
[[Category:Intellectual property law]]
[[Category:Technology companies]]
[[Category:Technology companies]]

Revision as of 01:31, 16 December 2009

MediaDefender, Inc.
IndustryCopyright enforcement
Founded2000
FounderRandy Saaf
Defunct2009
SuccessorPeer Media Technologies
Headquarters
Los Angeles
,
California, United States
Key people
Randy Saaf, Octavio Herrera
ParentArtistdirect (August 2005-)
Websitewww.mediadefender.com

MediaDefender, Inc. was a company that offered services designed to prevent alleged copyright infringement using peer-to-peer distribution. They were controversial because of their use of unusual tactics such as flooding peer-to-peer networks with decoy files that tie up users' computers and bandwidth.[1] MediaDefender is based in Los Angeles, California in the United States. As of March 2007, the company has approximately 60 employees,[2] and uses 2,000 servers hosted in California with contracts for 9 Gbit/s of bandwidth.[2]

These types of organizations are being hired to attempt to stymie peer-to-peer (P2P) traders through a variety of methods including posting fake files online, recording individuals who contribute copyrighted material, but also marketing to individuals using P2P networks.[3] Clients include Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Virgin Records, HBO, Paramount Pictures, and BMG[citation needed]. On August 1, 2005, the digital media entertainment company ARTISTdirect announced that it had acquired MediaDefender for $42.5 million in cash.

In May 2008, MediaDefender performed a distributed-denial-of-service attack on Revision3, despite the fact that they were not hosting pirated materials. Jim Louderback, Revision3 CEO charged that these attacks violated the Economic Espionage Act and the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act. As of May 2008, the Federal Bureau of Investigation was investigating the incident.[4]

In August 2009, ARTISTdirect restructured MediaDefender and MediaSentry, creating Peer Media Technologies.

Miivi.com

In February 2007, MediaDefender launched a video sharing site called Miivi.com. On July 4, 2007, file-sharing news site TorrentFreak alleged that Miivi.com was created to trap uploaders of copyrighted content.[5][6] The site's origins were discovered by a blogger who looked up Miivi.com domain registration information.[7]

After the allegation was re-posted throughout the blogosphere, Miivi.com was shut down on July 4, 2007.[8] In an interview with Ars Technica, chief executive Randy Saaf stated that "MediaDefender was working on an internal project that involved video and didn't realize that people would be trying to go to it and so we didn't password-protect the site".[9] MediaDefender blamed file-sharing groups such as The Pirate Bay for starting the story.[9] Following MediaDefender's subsequent email leak, TorrentFreak alleged that MediaDefender's statement was revealed to be a deliberate falsehood.[10] Saaf denied that MiiVi was "a devious product" and that the company aimed to entrap users, stating only that it was part of MediaDefender's "trade secrets."[11]

The MPAA denied any involvement with MediaDefender.[9] On September 14, 2007, internal emails from MediaDefender were leaked on to BitTorrent file sharing networks, which contradicted MediaDefender's claims of MiiVi being an "internal test site," revealing additional detailed information about the website and that the site was closed when the connection between it and MediaDefender became public knowledge. It was scheduled to be re-launched as www.viide.com, but has not yet been opened up to the public.[5]

Leaked information

Beginning on September 14, 2007, MediaDefender experienced a security breach caused by a group of crackers led by high school student "Ethan". This group called themselves MediaDefender-Defenders. [12] According to an SEC filing, this ultimately cost parent company ARTISTdirect at least $825,000.[13] The breach included emails, a phone conversation, and a number of internal anti-piracy tools, including some source code.

Leaked e-mails

On September 14, 2007, 6,621 of the company's internal e-mails were leaked, containing information contradicting previous statements and details of strategies intended to deceive copyright infringers. The emails link MediaDefender to projects that management previously denied involvement in. The Associated Press and other media outlets suggest that the leak may confirm speculation that MiiVi.com was an anti-copyright infringement "honeypot" site.[14][15] One e-mail suggests using the MiiVi client program to turn users' PCs into drones for MediaDefender's eMule spoofing activities. The leaked e-mails discuss responses to unexpected and negative press, and expose upcoming projects, problems in and around the office, Domino's pizza orders, and other personal information about employees. Beyond strategic information, the leak also exposed login information for FTP and MySQL servers, making available a large library of MP3 files likely including artists represented by MediaDefender's clients. The emails also revealed that MediaDefender probably was negotiating with the New York Attorney General's office to allow them access to information about users accessing pornographic material.[16] As of September 15, 2007, there has been no official response from the company.[10] However, evidence exists that MediaDefender has been employing both legal and illegal actions to remove copies of the leaked emails from their respective hosting sites. In addition to the usual cease-and-desist letters from their legal department, IP addresses that are owned by MediaDefender were found to have been used in denial-of-service attacks against sites hosting the leaked emails.[17]

The e-mails also revealed direction by MediaDefender founder Randy Saaf to have developer Ben Ebert attempt to eliminate the information about MiiVi from MediaDefender's Wikipedia entry.[16] Ebert responds in an email on the same day saying, "I will attempt to get all referenes [sic] to miivi removed from wiki. I should easily be able to get It contested. We'll see if I can get rid of it."[18]

Leaked phone conversation

On September 16, 2007, MediaDefender-Defenders released a 25 minute excerpt of a phone conversation between the New York Attorney General's office and MediaDefender as a torrent on The Pirate Bay. MediaDefender-Defenders claims in information released with the phone conversation that they have infiltrated the "internals" of the company.[19]

Leaked source code

On September 20, 2007, MediaDefender-Defenders released the source code of TrapperKeeper, MediaDefender's decoy systems on The Pirate Bay.[20] A large chunk of MediaDefender's software was available by Bittorrent.[21]

Revision3 controversy

Revision3 is an Internet television network which distributes video content legally through various means, including the BitTorrent protocol. During the Memorial Day weekend in 2008, Revision3 came under a Denial of Service attack originating from MediaDefender IP addresses. The attack left the company's service inaccessible until mid-Tuesday the following week. Revision3 CEO Jim Louderback accused MediaDefender of injecting its decoy files into Revision3's BitTorrent service through a vulnerability, then automatically perpetrating the attack after Revision3 increased security.[22][23]

Randy Saaf defended MediaDefender's actions by stating "Our systems were targeting a tracker not even knowing it was Revision3's tracker", adding that the denial-of-service attack resulted when "Revision3 changed some configurations" to their bittorrent tracker [24]

See also

References

  1. ^ Holahan, Catherine (March 5, 2007). "Advertising to the File-Sharing Crowd" BusinessWeek. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.
  2. ^ a b Anderson, Nate (March 18, 2007). "Peer-to-peer poisoners: A tour of MediaDefender". Ars Technica. Retrieved on September 16, 2007.
  3. ^ Angwin, Julia, McBride, Sarah, and Smith, Ethan (October 18, 2006). "Record Labels Turn Piracy Into a Marketing Opportunity". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on September 16 2007.
  4. ^ "Revision3 CEO: Blackout caused by MediaDefender attack". arstechnica.com. Retrieved 2008-05-30.
  5. ^ a b "Anti-Piracy Gang Launches their own Video Download Site to Trap People". July 4 2007. TorrentFreak. Retrieved on September 17 2007.
  6. ^ "MPAA Dummy Site Snares Pirates" DigitalTrends.com
  7. ^ "Domain Registration Information"
  8. ^ "Miivi.com goes down"
  9. ^ a b c Cheng, Jacqui (July 6 2007). "MediaDefender denies entrapment accusations with fake torrent site". Ars Technica. Retrieved on September 16 2007.
  10. ^ a b "The Biggest Ever BitTorrent Leak: MediaDefender Internal Emails Go Public". September 15 2007. TorrentFreak. Retrieved on September 16 2007.
  11. ^ McBride, Sarah (September 17 2007). "Antipiracy group suffers email leak". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved on September 16 2007.
  12. ^ Media Defenders Profile - National Business News - Print - Portfolio.com
  13. ^ ARTISTDIRECT INC (Form: 10QSB, Received: 11/14/2007 16:07:22)
  14. ^ Veiga, Alex (September 18 2007). "Hackers leak anti-piracy firm's e-mails". Associated Press. Retrieved on September 19 2007.
  15. ^ Carr, Jim (September 18 2007). "Stolen emails reveal anti-copyright infringement company's 'honeypot' strategy". SC Magazine US. Retrieved on September 19 2007.
  16. ^ a b Leaked Media Defender e-mails reveal secret government project
  17. ^ P2P sites ridicule MediaDefender takedown notices in wake of e-mail leak arstechnica.com
  18. ^ Re: MiiVi got Dugg
  19. ^ MediaDefender Phone Call and Gnutella Tracking Database Leaked
  20. ^ MediaDefender Anti-Piracy Tools Leaked
  21. ^ MediaDefender source code leaked to wibble
  22. ^ Inside the Attack that Crippled Revision3
  23. ^ Anti-piracy misfire blamed for crash of popular online TV network
  24. ^ MediaDefender Defends Revision3 SYN Attack
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