Operation Sitedown:
http://www.usdoj.gov/opa/pr/2005/June/05_crm_353.htm
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
THURSDAY, JUNE 30, 2005
http://WWW.USDOJ.GOV
CRM
(202) 514-2008
TDD (202) 514-1888
JUSTICE DEPARTMENT ANNOUNCES INTERNATIONAL
INTERNET PIRACY SWEEP
?Operation Site Down? Attacks Organized Piracy Networks In 10 Countries
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales, Acting
Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter of the Criminal Division and
FBI Cyber Division Assistant Director Louis M. Reigel today announced
another far-reaching and aggressive international enforcement action
against criminal organizations involved in the illegal online
distribution of copyrighted material.
Beginning yesterday morning, the FBI and law enforcement from 10 other
countries conducted over 90 searches worldwide as part of ?Operation
Site Down,? designed to disrupt and dismantle many of the leading
criminal organizations that illegally distribute and trade in
copyrighted software, movies, music, and games on the Internet.
?By dismantling these networks, the Department is striking at the top of
the copyright piracy supply chain - a distribution chain that provides
the vast majority of the illegal digital content now available online,?
said Attorney General Gonzales. ?And by penetrating this illegal world
of high-technology and intellectual property theft, we have shown that
law enforcement can and will find - and we will prosecute - those who
try to use the Internet to create piracy networks beyond the reach of
law enforcement.?
Operation Site Down is the culmination of three separate undercover
investigations conducted by the FBI. In the past 24 hours, more than 70
searches were executed in the United States, and more than 20 overseas.
Four individuals were arrested in the United States, and searches and/or
arrests occurred in the following 10 countries: Canada, Israel, France,
Belgium, Denmark, the Netherlands, United Kingdom, Germany, Portugal and
Australia. At least eight major online distribution sites were
dismantled, preventing tens of millions of further losses to the content
industry. More than 120 leading members of the organized online piracy
underground were identified by the investigation to date, and as the
investigations continue, additional targets will be identified and pursued.
?The theft of this property strikes at the heart of America?s economy,?
said FBI Assistant Director Louis M. Reigel. ?It deprives many Americans
and others around the globe of their right to be paid for their labor
and enjoy the value of their hard work.?
In addition to attacking piracy globally, Operation Site Down struck at
all facets of the illegal software, game, movie, and music trade online,
which is commonly referred to as the "warez scene." The investigations
focused on individuals and organizations that were the ?first-providers?
of copyrighted works to the warez underground - the so-called ?release?
groups that operated as the original sources for a majority of the
pirated works distributed and downloaded via the Internet. Once a warez
release group prepares a stolen work for distribution, the material is
distributed in minutes to secure, top-level warez servers throughout the
world. From there, within a matter of hours, the pirated works are
distributed globally, filtering down to peer-to-peer and other public
file sharing networks accessible to anyone with Internet access.
The release groups targeted by Site Down specialize in the distribution
of all types of pirated works including utility and application
software, movies, music, and games. Among the warez groups hit yesterday
are: RiSCISO, Myth, TDA, LND, Goodfellaz, Hoodlum, Vengeance, Centropy,
Wasted Time, Paranoid, Corrupt, Gamerz, AdmitONE, Hellbound, KGS, BBX,
KHG, NOX, NFR, CDZ, TUN, and BHP. These groups alone are allegedly
responsible for stealing, cracking and distributing hundreds of
well-known titles, such as Autodesk?s Autocad 2006, Adobe?s Photoshop,
and the movies ?Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith? and ?Mr. and
Mrs. Smith.? Operation Site Down is expected to dismantle many of these
international warez syndicates and significantly disrupt the illicit
operations of others.
Conservative estimates of the value of pirated works seized in
yesterday?s action exceed $50 million, which is only a fraction of the
losses attributable to the online distribution hubs also seized in this
operation. Top-level release groups like those targeted in the operation
are primary suppliers to the for-profit criminal distribution networks
that cost the copyright industry billions of dollars each year. Illegal
warez copies of titles such as Autocad 2006 and ?Mr. and Mrs. Smith? are
easily and cheaply converted to optical discs and distributed throughout
the world from factories in Asia and elsewhere. Spammers regularly
advertise cheap software that can be downloaded from websites or shipped
from overseas, usually bearing the signature mark of the warez group
that released it.
Operation Site Down comprises three separate FBI undercover
investigations run by the FBI field divisions in Charlotte, North
Carolina; Chicago, Illinois; and San Francisco, California. The U.S.
Attorney?s Offices in San Francisco, Charlotte and Chicago assisted in
the investigations and a majority of the domestic targets will be
prosecuted in those districts. The Justice Department?s Computer Crime
and Intellectual Property Section also assisted in the investigations
and led the coordination of foreign enforcement actions in 10 countries.
Operation Site Down is the latest in a series of actions taken by the
Department of Justice to crack down on illegal online piracy. In the
past four years, beginning with Operation Buccaneer in 2001 through
Operation Fastlink in 2004, the Department has prosecuted a number of
international investigations into these top piracy organizations.
In March 2004, as part of the Administration?s Strategy Targeting
Organized Piracy (STOP!) Initiative, the Department established the Task
Force on Intellectual Property to address the increasing problem of
intellectual property theft. The Task Force examined how the Department
protects intellectual property through criminal, civil and antitrust
enforcement, legislative proposals, international coordination, and
prevention. A report issued by the Task Force in October 2004
recommended comprehensive improvements in the Department?s overall
efforts, many of which have already been implemented. One of those
recommendations was to continue the Department?s strategy of dismantling
and prosecuting multi-district and international criminal organizations
that commit intellectual property crimes. Operation Site Down represents
the Department?s continued effort to pursue this strategy.
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