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MegaUpload Attack 2012

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Police mysteriously lose video of Megaupload raid. By Stephen C. WebsterMonday, April 9, 2012 13:55 EDT Video footage of a police raid on the home of Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom is missing, and authorities claim they’re not quire sure what happened to it. This flub is just the latest in anti-piracy allegations against the file-hosting site, and comes amid the evidence discovery phase in the case against Kim Dotcom, the extravagant and eccentric founder of Megaupload, which was raided by New Zealand authorities after the U.S. movie and music industries accused the site of extensive media piracy. Following the raid, New Zealand’s highest court chided authorities for filing the wrong paperwork for their warrant, then filing the right request after the raid already transpired in hopes of making their request retroactive. The site’s founder has since claimed key pieces of evidence against him are actually files he legally owned, indicating that the prosecution’s case has some serious weaknesses.

Stephen C. Stephen C. APNewsBreak: Feds shut down file-sharing website. By MATTHEW BARAKAT Associated Press McLEAN, Va. (AP) - One of the world's most popular file-sharing sites was shut down Thursday, and its founder and several company officials were accused of facilitating millions of illegal downloads of films, music and other content. A federal indictment accused Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders at least $500 million in lost revenue. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to make it easier for authorities to go after sites with pirated material, especially those with overseas headquarters and servers. The news of the shutdown seemed to bring retaliation from hackers who claimed credit for attacking the Justice Department's website. A loose affiliation of hackers known as "Anonymous" claimed credit for the attack. "The fact is that the vast majority of Mega's Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay.

Justice Department Web site inoperable after feds seize Megaupload - The Federal Eye. Posted at 06:05 PM ET, 01/19/2012 Jan 19, 2012 11:05 PM EST TheWashingtonPost A screenshot of the Justice Department Web site, from 2009. (Justice Department) Portions of the Justice Department Web site became inoperable Thursday just hours after federal officials seized and shut down the file-sharing Web site Megaupload.com and arrested several of its executives on charges of violating piracy laws. Anonymous, a group of Internet hackers, claimed responsibility for the attack via Twitter, as it usually does. Barrett Brown, the Dallas-based founder of an online think tank that works with Anonymous, confirmed in a phone interview that Anonymous took down the Web sites using “distributed denial of service” attacks — essentially bombarding the sites with an overwhelming amount of traffic. Several attempts to load the site, www.Justice.gov, failed late Thursday afternoon.

“The fact is that the vast majority of Mega’s Internet traffic is legitimate, and we are here to stay. Further reading: If the government has the ability to shut down websites like Megaupload at whim, what did they even need SOPA for? : AskReddit. Can someone explain why the MegaUpload takedown was horrible? : AskReddit. Man behind Megaupload remains defiant. Rich and obese, Kim Dotcom boasts a checkered, colorful bio. Updated 2012-01-20 2:49 PM Kim Schmitz, also known as Kim Dotcom, is shown in a court appearance in Auckland, New Zealand, after his arrest on charges of criminal infringement of copyright law and moneylaundering. Who is Kim Dotcom? The overweight, 37-year-old German national behind the notorious download site MegaUpload, boasts a colorful, checkered background, with plenty of run-ins with the law.

Dotcom was arrested in New Zealand along with three others on a U.S. indictment for an alleged $175m conspiracy of criminal copyright infringement, money laundering and racketeering. READ: Justice Dept. statement on the charges The 6-foot-7-inch multimillionaire, whose real name is Kim Schmitz, boasts a playboy lifestyle, complete with glamorous, bikini-clad models, and lives in a $23 million residence that is described as New Zealand's most expensive home. In 2005, Schmitz founded MegaUpload, based in Hong Kong, which is at the center of the charges of copyright infringement. Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom sprang electronic locks in his 'Bond villain lair' as police swooped. Kim Dotcom one of four men arrested as part of investigation into Megaupload website'It was definitely not as simple as knocking at the front door' says police chief By Anthony Bond Updated: 19:10 GMT, 22 January 2012 It sounds like something more reminiscent of a James Bond film than real life.

When police officers attempted to arrest the man accused of being one of the world's biggest internet pirates at his multi-million pound mansion, things were a bit trickier than they might have expected. Instead of giving himself up easily, Kim Dotcom refused to let the police in, activated a number of locking mechanisms in his sprawling home and then hid in a safe room.

James Bond hideaway: Kim Dotcom's sprawling mansion in Coatesville, north west of Auckland, can be seen in this image. Secure: Dozens of police officers, backed by helicopters, had to force their way into the mansion after Mr Dotcom refused to let them in. 'It was definitely not as simple as knocking at the front door.' U.S. Megaupload: Kim Dotcom describes his strange prison encounters in New Zealand court. The founder of the file-sharing website Megaupload was arrested and jailed in New Zealand after US authorities accused him of a "Mega Conspiracy" in which he cost copyright owners more than $US500 million. US officials are seeking his extradition. The 38-year-old, known for his lavish lifestyle, was last week denied bail by a judge who said he posed a "significant" flight risk. A judge today agreed with that decision, saying it was possible the FBI had not frozen all of Dotcom's funds and that he may be able to illegally depart New Zealand.

Aside from the would-be female prisoner pen pals, who appeared to have left Dotcom unimpressed, details of other strange encounters also emerged during today's hearings. A government lawyer said a man known to have forged travel documents had tried to visit Dotcom in prison, but the millionaire said he had never heard of the person and had no intention of fleeing. "I'm aware that if I go to Germany I would be unable to un-freeze my assets," he said. hUVIP.jpg (JPEG Image, 960 × 601 pixels) FBI's Megaupload bust 'has done nothing to reduce internet piracy' says study. Putlocker, Rapidshare and Mediafire traffic has risenOverall piracy has 'not decreased much in North America' says analystTrade had recovered within 24 hours By Rob Waugh Updated: 18:36 GMT, 10 February 2012 The FBI's recent seizure of Megaupload.com and its arrest of founder Kim Dotcom has done little to reduce piracy, says a web-traffic analyst. In the hour after the bust, total internet trafffic around the world fell by two to three per cent - an indication of the scale of Megaupload, which hosted 34 per cent of file-sharing, according to analyst Deep Field Networks.

But just a day afterwards, the trade in shared music and films 'had not decreased much', says the analyst - it had just shifted to new services, and to new computer servers in Europe, rather than America. Putlocker, MediaFire and Rapidshire were the big gainers in the 24 hours after Megaupload shut down. 'File sharing has not gone away. 'On January 28, MegaVideo was clearly the king with 34% of all file sharing traffic. Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom granted bail. Thursday, March 1, 2012 - Campbell Live - news/current affairs - On Demand. Kim Dotcom: US Govt Is Protecting An Outdated Monopolistic Business Model. The dramatic shutdown of Megaupload and the US government's case against the operators of the service has the potential to alter the entire service provider landscape, not just in the United States but all around the world. Indeed, some observers believe that has already happened. After defeating attempts to put him back behind bars yesterday, Mega founder Kim Dotcom is back with more insights into the reasons behind the site's closure.

After speaking with TorrentFreak on Monday, Kim Dotcom has elaborated on his situation in an interview with 3news’ Campbell Live, which now gives us the opportunity to reveal a bit more detail about the current musings of the Megaupload founder. Aside from the heavy-handed nature of the shutdown, the underlying shock in this case has its roots in the undermining of a previously presumed level of legal protection for service providers. “Well there are other laws that protect users and those are privacy laws. “I’m an easy target. “I’m not Google. Kim Dotcom: Megaupload boss granted bail in New Zealand after funds are seized. Twenty stone Kim Dotcom granted bail in New Zealand and says he will fight U.S. extradition effortsCo-accused are also granted bail in one of the largest anti-piracy crackdowns ever By David Baker Updated: 14:37 GMT, 22 February 2012 The millionaire founder of file-sharing website Megaupload was released on bail in New Zealand today after authorities seized funds to prevent him fleeing the country.

Authorities in the U.S. allege founder Kim Dotcom facilitated millions of illegal downloads through his company and he is subject to online piracy charges. Under one of the largest anti-piracy crackdowns ever, the U.S. Department of Justice is seeking to have Dotcom, also known as Kim Schmitz, and three co-workers, extradited to face charges including conspiracy to commit racketeering and conspiracy to commit copyright infringement. Scroll down for video He had been in custody since his arrest on January 20 after he was initially denied bail He said a similar situation applies to Finland.

Megaupload Founder Defeats US Govt Attempts To Put Him Back In Prison. After being granted bail last week, Kim Dotcom went home to spend some quality time with his family. The Megaupload founder had been in prison for little over a month after his arrest in January. Upset at the decision to grant Dotcom freedom, the US Government, argued yesterday in an appeal hearing that he should be put back in jail. Today they failed in that attempt and Dotcom remains a free man - at least for now. On February 22nd, Megaupload founder Kim Dotcom was released on bail by North Shore District Court Judge Nevin Dawson.

Dotcom had been held in custody since an anti-terrorist police squad raided his Coatesville mansion in January following a lengthy FBI investigation. The prosecution, acting on behalf of the US Government, argued that Dotcom had hidden resources that would enable him to flee the country should he be granted bail. Today Judge Tim Brewer agreed, denying the prosecution’s appeal and allowing Dotcom to remain a free man pending an extradition appeal in August. MegaUpload Takedown Proves SOPA / PIPA Are Unnecessary. It has been a huge week when it comes to protecting intellectual property and defending the freedom of the Internet. Following a massive blackout on Wednesday to oppose pending SOPA legislation, the United States government took down MegaUpload.com--demonstrating why we don’t need SOPA in the first place.

Debate has been raging on Capitol Hill over two pending bills--SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) in the House, and PIPA (Protect Intellectual Property Act) in the Senate. Supporters insist that copyright violations and intellectual property theft are a rampant online epidemic, and that sweeping, draconian legislation is the only viable solution. The Internet disagrees. Starting with an effort to boycott GoDaddy.com for its support of SOPA, awareness has steadily increased, and opposition has grown. The question remains, though, why do we need any new legislation at all? The DOJ case against MegaUpload relies on ProIP legislation passed in 2008. Mike Masnick sums it up in a post on TechDirt. v1hrU.png (PNG Image, 535 × 87 pixels) Takedown of Megaupload leads to fears Internet commerce will suffer. The government takedown of Megaupload, a popular file-sharing site, has stoked simmering fears that hard-line enforcement of copyright infringements could profoundly disrupt Internet commerce.

File sharing has become a major way corporations collaborate with employees and partners and interact with customers. It fuels the sharing of rich content across Internet-connected devices in the home and office and distributed to mobile devices and has emerged as a major component of cloud computing, the delivery of content and services across the Web. "If legitimate content is housed on the same service that might have infringing content, it gets sucked into this vortex and it's gone," says Dennis Fisher, security blogger at Threatpost.com. "I don't know how much the government or these companies (advocating strict anti-piracy enforcement) have thought this through. I would guess not a lot. " On Friday afternoon, Twitter and Facebook users continued buzzing about the shutdown of Megaupload. Megaupload wants servers back, briefly gets clone. Megaupload returns fire after shutdown Megaupload reacted vigorously to shutdowns and arrests with action of its own.

In conversation with Reuters, defending attorney Ira Rothken said Megaupload was "looking at its legal options" to bring its site back online. The lawyer objected to FBI and media industry claims that Megaupload was a criminal conspiracy and said that simply having a file upload service wasn't grounds for the raids this week. "It is really offensive to say that just because people can upload bad things, therefore Megaupload is automatically responsible," Rothken explained.

Officials have so far used the same argument that they did to get LimeWire to close. While safe harbor principles in the US protect a company from being held responsible for illegal content it didn't know was on its site, the firm loses that protection if a large part of its content is illegal and it doesn't move quickly to clean itself. By Electronista Staff. Shauna Myers - Google+ - Why was MegaUpload really shut down? In December of 2011,…

FBI Charges Seven With Online Piracy. US government hits Megaupload with mega piracy indictment | Technology. The US government has closed down one of the world's largest filesharing websites, accusing its founders of racketeering, money laundering and presiding over "massive" online piracy. According to prosecutors, Megaupload illegally cheated copyright holders out of $500m in revenue as part of a criminal enterprise spanning five years. A lawyer for Megaupload told the Guardian it would "vigorously" defend itself against the charges, dismissing the criminal action as "a civil case in disguise". News of the indictment – being framed as one of the biggest copyright cases in US history – came a day after major internet firms held a 24-hour protest over proposed anti-piracy laws. According to a Department of Justice release, seven people associated with Megaupload were indicted by a federal grand jury earlier this month over the charges.

They included Kim Dotcom, founder of the online firm. Those behind the website have claimed that it diligently responds to any complaint regarding pirated material. MegaUpload Users Plan to Sue the FBI over Lost Files. In most reports following the MegaUpload shutdown, the site is exclusively portrayed as a piracy haven. However, hundreds of thousands, perhaps millions of people used the site to share research data, work documents, personal video collections. As of today, these people are still unsure whether they will ever get their personal belongings back. In a response, Pirate Parties worldwide have started to make a list of all the people affected by the raids, and they are planning to file an official complaint against the US authorities. “The widespread damage caused by the sudden closure of Megaupload is unjustified and completely disproportionate to the aim intended,” they announce.

“For this reason Pirates of Catalonia, in collaboration with Pirate Parties International and other Pirate Parties, have begun investigating these potential breaches of law and will facilitate submission of complaints against the US authorities in as many countries as possible, to ensure a positive and just result.” Pirate Party of Catalonia wants to sue FBI, in Spain, over Megaupload seizure. Anonymous Goes on Megaupload Revenge Spree: DoJ, RIAA, MPAA, and Universal Music All Offline. Anonymous Shuts Down The MPAA, RIAA And Other Websites. MPAA Fights Back Against Anonymous Attacks.