Re: Hugo - The Evil Mirror [PC] No Survey No Password No Download
Reyes Grindberg
1) How clueful are they?
by jeffy124
In your opinion, how did the each party (prosecution, your lawyer, andmost important - the judge) look when it came to their understanding oftechnology? Did they know every nook and cranny, or seem lost in a mazeof confusion? Do you think an understanding of the issues in questionwas a significant factor in court proceedings?
Chris:
That is a tough question to answer considering the organizational structureof the government's side of things. The prosecution works very closely withother units of law enforcement when it comes to technically challengingcases like mine. In my situation, the government prosecutors were very wellbriefed about how the technical aspect of the warez scene work. They arebriefed by law enforcement agents who are very technically savvy and able tosift through all of the data that they are presented with at the time awarrant is carried out. With this data, the agents build a packet ofevidence that the procecutors can look through and easily understand. Theyhad a plethora of evidence on which to build a case against me and it boileddown that all the ones and zeros that the agents were able to pick throughadded up to copyright infringement in the prosecution's eyes.
My lawyer isn't very technically adept, but lawyers are pretty bright. Hewas able to grasp the concepts of everything, if he wasn't able to, hewouldn't be my lawyer. :) Besides, I was able to coach him through most ofit.
2) "The Bust", WarGames or Matrix?
by msheppard
What was "The Bust" like? Was it like _WarGames_ where they showed up inblack vans and confiscated your computers and rifled through yourtrash? Or was it more like _Matrix_ where they called you in andpresented all sorts of evidence they collected online etc.?
I was sitting at my computer chatting with a fellow DOD member on IRC. Allof a sudden I noticed my net connection died. When I went to walk out thedoor, a U.S. Customs agent met me. "Mr. Tresco, My name is XXXXX, I am withthe U.S. Customs Department. Would you mind coming with me?" As I turnedthe corner, there were about 20 law enforcement officials combing the hallsof my workplace. We proceeded to a conference room where I answeredquestions for the better part of the day while the agents proceeded to carryout their warrant. They were looking for specific systems that were on thewarrant. They had IP addresses. Technically, they had the authority totake everything on the network that the computers identified on the warrantwere on, however they followed the warrant pretty strictly, taking only thestuff on it. It was really the hardest day of my life. I had no idea whatwas going on most of the time. I felt like I was in a dream.
3) Was there a feeling that DoD was too big?
by crunnluadh
The incredibly large volume of warez DoD was trading must have beenstaggering. At any point in time did you or anyone else in DoD everthink that the whole ring was getting way out of hand? If so, what evercame from that or those discussions?
Chris:
In terms of percentages of releases put out by DOD in relation to the scene,we weren't doing all that many. We did, however, have quite a large numberof ftp sites that were being heavily utilized. One of our private leechsites was larger than a terrabyte of games and movies. It was constantlybeing uploaded to and downloaded from. This should give you an idea of theamount of trading that was going on.
To answer your other question... I felt on a daily basis that things weregetting out of control. There were times that I did actually quit, but onlyfor a day or so. IRC always brought me back online. That was my biggestmistake. DOD was a warez group, yes... but imagine a bunch of guys/galssitting around talking all day and suddenly you stop showing up... You startto miss that type of interaction.
Chris:
I am very scared to go to prison. I have never been in any sort of jail inmy life. They prepare you in the sense that they tell you where and when togo, what you can bring, and what type of facility it is. The rest is donethrough books and my lawyer, who has been really great through this wholeordeal. I am fortunate enough to be assigned to a minimum security facilityclose to my home.
5) If it wasn't about the money, what was it about?
by wackybrit
You were a sysadmin at MIT, so were probably pulling in a pretty goodwage.. at least, probably better than 50% of the Slashdot readership anyway.
So if it wasn't about the money, what was it about? Prestige is oneoption, but people in these groups need to keep hidden, so that doesn'tfit. Was it for the ideals? If so, what ideals are there in ripping offsoftware?
I can understand why people who can't afford software rip it off.. theyhave stuff to do, and can't afford $500 for Photoshop or whatever.. buttell me why someone with a decent salary will work in secret to beat thesoftware companies.. what is the motivation?
Chris:
My motivation had absolutely nothing to do with the software, the prestige,the civil disobedience, or the mysteriousness of it all. My motivation waspurely and simply putting technology to work. I have always been a curiouscat, like most of you that read Slashdot. I was basically the Sysadmin ofDrinkOrDie. I love to make computers work together, build up networks,install services, lockdown boxes... you guys know the drill. I got verycarried away with what I was doing and forgot to confide in my moral self.I knew I was doing wrong, and yes... to clear anything up... it isabsolutely wrong to steal software from a company. Whether it is ones orzeros or bags of money, it is stealing. If for no other reason, it is wrongbecause of the license agreement. If you don't agree with the license,don't use the software.
6) questions from a fellow cracker
by Anonymous Coward
I am a cracker from a fairly well known group, living in the US. We takenormal precautions (encrypted email/irc), but there are clearvulnerabilities that cant easily be eliminated (topsite accounts and thepossibility of trojaned supplied software, etc.). The dod bust stunnedall of us with the lengths of the sentences, which seem out ofproproportion to the crime. I find myself asking more and more whetherthe risk is worth the fun. We are all in it for the commaraderie and thefriends (and the access to files); of course none of us are making anymoney from it. My question is, if you had it to do over again, would youstay out of a group, and of the scene? Were there risks you took thatyou sholdn't have? What were they? Any advice to someone still in thescene who wants to stay but worries about being caught?
Chris:
If I had to do it over again, I would absolutely not get involved with thescene. The scene is technically organized crime... that is it. Mobstershave friends too, but would you want to go to prison for what you and yourfellow comrades are doing on the net? Isn't it better to pay for theoccasional piece of software you might want than to pay with 33 months infederal prison? I think so... And you say here:
That is the wrong way to think about it. You are asking yourself if it isworth something to commit a crime. What you should be asking yourself is,if what you are doing is fundamentally wrong. If it is (and I would saythat it is) then stop doing it.
To answer the rest of your question... The only pertinent risk was gettinginvolved with the scene in the first place. You will get caught sooner orlater if you continue doing what you are doing. My advice to you is to getout while you still can. Any precautions you take are easily circumvented.For example, email encrypted via PGP is only as strong as the people who getthe email. If the government busts 20 people in your group, the odds of oneof the people giving up their passphrase is pretty good. from that point,all the mail is readable. Encrypted IRC is not going to do it either. Whatif one of the people you are chatting with is an informant? Encryptionbecomes meaningless.
7) Plans for your stay?
by zbuffered
One of the things about jail is that you have nothing but free time. Sowhat do you plan to do? Study for a new career? Work out constantly?Plan your escape? Learn to speak Sanskrit?
When you get out, you will have had 33 months of basically no realresponsibilities. If you find a nice, cushy prison, you can get somereal work done. Are you going to use this time to make your life whenyou get out of jail better?
Also, when you get out, what do you plan to do? Something in thecomputer field, or do you plan to change your path when you get out? IfI were in your place, I think I'd just get fed up with computers andbecome a florist or something.
Chris:
During the time I am in prison, I will educate myself. I will hopefully beable to take some classes towards a degree. Since I love working withsystems, I will hopefully be able to school myself in the art of businessand compliment my technical skills. My passion lies with IT, I would loveto take the education I get from prison (formal or not) and use it to bettermy career and make me a better person.
8) Rise of P2P?
by Rayonic
How do you feel about the rise of P2P and its affects on the Warezcommunity? Do you think it makes it safer (safety in numbers?) or do youthink that it'll bring down the fist of the law even harder?
Chris:
In the context of the warez scene, P2P networks don't play any part. Theyare essentially mutually exclusive members. I think that people in thewarez scene used P2P networks just as frequently and for the same purposesas the majority of P2P users. P2P and the warez scene do, however, relatein one fashion. Both networks utilize the internet as a means to illegallydistribute copyrighted works. This will affect both entities in that themore illegal activity that goes on in general, the more law enforcement willbe trying to put an end to it. This puts more heat on both services.Technology crimes are also a hot topic as of late. So popular that thereare many organizations, like the Software and Information IndustryAssociation (SIIA) at www.siia.net and the Computer Crime and IntellectualProperty Section (CCIPS) of the Department of Justice at www.cybercrime.gov,whose sole purpose is to stop them from happening. Software companiesreally do lose money from piracy, why else would they support these types oforganizations?