Adult video-sharing list leaked from law firm
 

The personal details of thousands of Sky broadband customers have been leaked on to the internet, alongside a list of pornographic movies they are alleged to have shared online.

The list, seen by BBC News, details the full names and addresses of over 5,300 people thought by law firm ACS:Law to be illegally sharing adult films.

It appeared online following an attack on the ACS:Law website.

The UK's Information Commissioner said it would investigate the leak.

Privacy expert Simon Davis has called it "one of the worst breaches" of the Data Protection Act he had ever seen.



The documents appeared online after users of the message-board 4chan attacked ACS:Law's site in retaliation for its anti-piracy efforts.

The firm has made a business out of sending thousands of letters to alleged net pirates, asking them to pay compensation of about £500 per infringement or face court.

It uses third-party firms to scour the net looking for possible infringements of music and film copyright.

Armed with IP (internet protocol) addresses - which can identify the internet connection used in any copyright infringement - its lawyers can then apply for a court order to get the physical address of the PC from the service provider whose network has allegedly been used for the file-sharing.

A BBC investigation in August found a number of people saying they were wrongly accused by ACS:Law of illegal file-sharing. UK consumer group Which? says it has also received a number of complaints. Many contest that IP addresses can be spoofed.

ACS:Law is under investigation by the Solicitors Regulation Authority over its role in sending letters to alleged pirates.


The leak contains around 1,000 confidential e-mails, along with the list, which was an attachment on one of the messages.

The collection was then uploaded to file sharing website, The Pirate Bay, where it is being shared by hundreds of users.

The confidential e-mails include personal correspondence between Andrew Crossley - who runs ACS:Law - and work colleagues, as well as lists of potential file-sharers and information on how much the firm has made through its anti-file-sharing activities.

While some of the e-mails, detailing the internal workings of the company, may prove embarrassing, the leaking of an unencrypted document - that lists the personal details of more than 5,300 BSkyB Broadband subscribers alongside a list of adult videos they may have downloaded and shared online - could be a breach of the Data Protection Act.

Speaking to BBC News, Mr Crossley said there were "legal issues" surrounding the leak.

"We were the subject of a criminal attack to our systems. The business has and remains intact and is continuing to trade," he added.

Mr Crossley said he would not comment directly on the contents of individual e-mails.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11418962

Seems to be obvious: the leak was retaliation.

I don't think the 4chan guys will be too concerned.
ACS will still need to follow through with the sending of the letters.

Those 4chan guys, tsss!

crazy kids with their crazy computer hacking skills...

They have been posting the guys full address and tel nos along with photos of Andrew from the ACS:Law company. The law companys website has also been under ddos attack and the company has now been on a consumer watchdog program accusing them of running a "legal scam" This has got way out of hand now

Just wait until they find the name of a government minister on that list.

darn it.

i found myself on that list for downloading 'gay hunks vol6'. how did they find out that i had?

lol that would be funny

U told me u liked trannys

Doesn't anyone think it's ironic these pirates hackers had no problems with posting the name and addresses of a 1,000 other pirates and posting it on their boards. Pirates reading it must be thinking;

WHAT THE FUCK, IF MY NAME COMES UP ON THIS LIST OR ANOTHER ONE!!!!!!

The pirates are doing the job of putting off more pirates. The law firms should make these lists even more hackable in the future. :1orglaugh :1orglaugh

Yes I know it takes away the embarrassment element, still leaves the pay or go to court element. :thumbsup :thumbsup

Just me being ironic.

Paul its had the opposite affect

The law company is now being investigated and the pirates now know what the companys are up to, and know that 99% will never end up in court and all they want is the money.

In my opinion this should have all been kept as quite as possblie to stop this from happening in the first place. Now that law company is being frowned on, not just by pirates but by other people as well.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8483482.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8129261.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/8570913.stm

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/te...00/7766448.stm

and the courts are getting sick of this bullshit as well.

So getting your name posted on a list made public that you downloaded pirated porn is not going to make a few people think WTF if I get caught.

Whether the lawyers did enough to secure the information is to be decided. Should the lawyers be held responsible for the illegal actions of hackers?

It's entirely up to the targeted person to dispute this in court. They can take their computers to an expert or even to the lawyers for examination. Or Pirate Bay can fund a counter claim and nail the lawyers for a fine or settlement for harassment.

You are not that bright are you?

Courts live off the more work they get. Or are you saying they are sick of judging criminals?

I'm sick of pirates claiming they should not be prosecuted because an innocent person might get caught. Or it's too much trouble to go after them.

Who do they think they are 16 year old yobs with ASBOs against them. :1orglaugh

If pirates care about the innocent or over worked courts, let them stop stealing. They don't give a fuck. They just want to be left alone to steal at will.

Yes piracy is stealing. It's stealing money out of yours, if you're in the Adult business, and my pockets.

It *is* a legal scam.

Entrapment and Blackmail.

Just like what others here are doing, but they are too scared to do the entrapment part too. That only works in UK law. Google Davenport Lyons and Digiprotect for more information.

No, it's up to the prosecutor to PROVE a crime has been committed, it is not up to you to defend yourself.

I cannot just ACCUSE you of raping your models and that is that. I would have to get PROOF. It is not up to YOU to take YOUR tatty old cock to a doctor to prove your innocence. Just as it is not up to a John DOE to take his PC to an expert to prove he never downloaded a file that he was accused of downloading.

Yeah, I agree, who CARES if little old ladies get blackmailed over downloading nazi hardcore gay porn? FUCK THEM! Right Paul! FUCK THE STUPID OLD PEOPLE IN THE FUCKING FACE!

http://news.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/hi/te...00/7766448.stm

Brilliant!

Stupid cunts, aren't they Paul, just stupid cunts.

Fresh ACS:Law file-sharing lists expose thousands more

The personal details of a further 8,000 people alleged to have shared music or films illegally have appeared online.

Rest here

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-11425789

oh dear!

This can not end well......

Nope specially for the law firm it could now face a million pound fine for not protecting personal data and now it looks like its been compromised again by hackers

Fantastic. I hope the ambulance chasing cunts don't have the cash in the bank to pay the fine and go under.

look at the post above you. in it is what is called a hyperlink. put the mouse machine on it and click. it will take you to a new webpage which you should read.

Hehe.

You think Paul READS LINKS?

He has an opinion, it is right, and anything that resembles facts he ignores.

it's the directv letter all over again.

it's an odd irony that the societal shame that makes porn a pariah industry is being used to shakedown people who may or may not downloaded a porn movie.

karma is a bitch and the media is going to have a field day with this.

Oh, there will have to be some limit even if this is online hacking.

The courts will not see it much different than if the hackers had actually physically broken into the law office, taken confidential information, and then spread it to the public. :321GFY

No one has been convicted of any crime. They have received a letter stating their IP address has been revealed as being used to download illegal files. They have the option of fighting it in court or paying. It looks like a lawyer is looking to defend those wrongly accused. This could cost the plaintiff or/and their lawyers big time.

Will a few innocent people get caught up in the mess created by pirates? Yes, but if the pirate truly care they can stop pirating. Truth is they don't give shit and WANT innocents caught up in this mess.

Are innocent people accused, charged and convicted of crimes they did not commit? YES, but do the police stop working? NO.

Do you have any better ideas to stop the pirating of content? If not STFU about people who are trying something.

I've watched piracy decimate this industry and very little has been done about it. It's cost you more than me. I made my money in the good days and can now retire, sitting back in a home I own knowing that I've made enough money to not worry.

Not sitting in a grotty rented little flat that backs onto a railway line in a street that's nothing to be proud of. Whois and Google maps show a lot. We've seen the videos you shot in this place and frankly I'm amazed you have the front to post them.

Still doing magic to supplement your income.

http://protagonist.co.uk/~damian/whymagic.html

http://protagonist.co.uk/~damian/contact.html

http://www.magician-directory.com/Ma...ast-Sussex.htm

And to the rest of people who think prosecuting pirates is a bad idea. Letting them run rampant could cost you a lot of money. Come up with better ideas than giving in to pirates and letting them run riot through your income.

I've downloaded the emails.

It's not people that have downloaded porn, it's all top 40 pop chart MP3s.

There is one reference to a porn site and it's someone denying downloading it.

NO WAIS, THE MIEDA MISLEAD PEEOPLS?

supposedly it wasn't a hack attack. they left the information open and unencrypted.

Nor will they ever be. A judge would throw it out of court. It's just simple blackmail.

But fuck those people, right? Who cares. Nice.

Yes. Lots of ideas. I've posted many here and on my blog at www.adultmarketing.co.uk

What? So unless I can propose something better than blackmail, I am not allowed to suggest blackmail is bad?

LOL. Nice argument.

Why do you beg for money on message boards every few months then?

You are so obsessed, you stalk my whois, look on google maps, and post information about me living in a rented flat?

Brilliant. I must have REALLY REALLY annoyed you. Good. Had many chats at the show with people about you. And your old assistant. And a few models.

http://protagonist.co.uk/~damian/whymagic.html

http://protagonist.co.uk/~damian/contact.html

http://www.magician-directory.com/Ma...ast-Sussex.htm


Lol. You are a weird little man. You must have had to look hard to find that 5 year old version of my magic site. Yes I do magic and make money from it. Does this somehow mean I am not entitled to think blackmailing people is bad?

I tell you what, I fucking hope when I retire I have better things to fill my time than you seem to have.

/me shakes his head

Paul - I know your position, but download the torrent and open up the emails in thunderbird. This company didn't even care whether the IPs/names they had were real pirates or not. Their raison d'être was purely to send out X thousand claims to the names they identified by IP logs, preaching to their clients (ie copyright holders) you will get XXXkGBP per thousand letters ont he first round, XXk on the second round etc.

It was touted as a third untapped income.

That is what this stinks to high heaven about, which others are now jumping onto in the US.

I hope they get landed the half million GBP fine for this major fuckup, because they get what they deserve. This was already covered last year by the BBC and Which as a "guilty until proven innocent" bully tactic and it stinks.

Maybe some of the opposition is from people scared one of these letters will land on their mat one day.

There has to be safe guards put into action, maybe some of the old ladies can send proof they are an old lady living alone. Maybe a scheme where a person arrives on the alleged downloaders doorstep with a letter and states that if he can examine their computer to verify it was a mistake. Then the letter is torn up.

If not the fine is a £1,000.

There will be mistakes made while the scheme is perfected. But as I said the people who care the less about the innocent accused and want them accused are the pirates.

In the leaked emails from this firm they talk about how they need to keep the amount they demand less than what it would cost for the person to hire a lawyer and fight it because their cases would never stand up in court.

These guys are scumbags.

Again with this "if you do not like blackmail, then you are probably a pirate" bullshit. Sigh.

You don't get it Paul. Download the emails. They are cunts trying to make money. It is NOTHING ABOUT PIRACY, ALL ABOUT EXTORTING MONEY FROM PEOPLE.

Go away, READ the emails. Come back. Explain why you think blackmailing people for money is good.

Paul thinks they are brilliant and this sort of legal action will stop piracy.

Thug for Lawyer: "You downloaded porn illegally. Give me access to your computer so I can see if you are innocent."

Old Lady: "Uh..."

Thug for Lawyer: "You have no choice. It is the law."

Old Lady: "Ok..."

*Thug accesses computer and copies porn to the hard drive.*

Thug for Lawyer: "Yes, I found all the porn here. You owe £2,500 per file and I have found 15 files."

Yeah, great idea Paul...

Yeah, seems that way. These guys are not trying to stop piracy. They are trying to collect money. None of the emails that were leaked discuss how their actions stop piracy. Their pitches to potential clients talk about how it is a new income stream and project how much they will earn from it.

If that is true and proven they will get their asses handed to them on a plate in court. Do you have proof they did not care, that they obtained IP addresses of people who were not flagged for downloading pirated content.

As I said before I've watched this industry be decimated by pirates. That's hitting you and me in our pockets. Some are not as comfortable as me, some will have to go find new jobs, some will lose their homes and so far nothing has been done to stop pirates.

Maybe a face to face visit is best, with a heftier fine for those who don't allow an inspection of their computers. To cover the cost of the visit.

Something has to done, or this industry will continue to dwindle. Think about what that will mean to you and what your next job will be. Damian's fine, he can keep pulling rabbits from his hat. :1orglaugh

From Damian's blog.

So no worries it's all good. Your numbers will be reflecting this. Damian had a lunch with Epoch, so it has to be true. :1orglaugh

Of course a few people in the Music, Film, Gaming, Programming industries don't have a clue and just like spending money lobbying Governments to get stronger measures put in place. They should speak to Damian.
No need they can view the geniuses video. http://www.adultmarketing.co.uk/page/2/

More of the geniuses mind blowing marketing here.

http://vimeo.com/13411050

Look at the swank decor. Got to see the success of this man.

Violating copyright does not make one a criminal. Any of these suits would be civil trials.

Also, this info wasn't a hack of any sort. The site was taken down by some sort of attack and when they brought it back up, the info was unprotected and freely available to anyone with a browser.

Yes, the proof is in the CEOs emails that are circulating on the torrents, that he sent out to clients - something like GBP200k from teh first round that settle without comment, 100kGBP if they hire a lawyer to send a reply and then settle, and 50kGBP on if it goes to trial, since the law firm then takes more of a percentage.

I'm paraphrasing those values, but it was something like that.

I'm absolutely not going to post excerpts from a private email that was given out publicly by the lawfirm's website and seeded across torrents because the emails state that the email was meant for the recipient only etc etc, and so by pasting it here would be stupid.

Bien entendu - fully understood.
However, this is *not* the way to go about it in my opinion. This *is* tantamount to blackmail, since it is "guilty until proven innocent" and was tried (and mostly dropped I believe) by the MPAA/RIAA because of the high profile false positives.

At one point, the mainstream movie makers looked to the porn industry for ideas, but this is way behind them. It can only backfire 10 times as hard for this industry due to the nature of the companies hiring these lawyers - just look at how much this ACS:Law fuckup has gotten in the mainstream... purely *because* it involves adult material.

I have no problem whatsoever sending a big fuck you reply to anyone that sends me any of these types of demands and will go the whole hog to defind myself and my internet connection in court, but like it's said many people will prefare to settle the 500GBP "fine" since at one point or other, their computer probably was used to watch pornography, maybe not illegally, but they don't want anything pornography-related affiliated with their name in public (which a court summonse would do).

I was against from day one cross sales that many people were for for the reason it was trickery, just as I am fully against this as a means of fighting piracy since it's thuggery.

:2 cents:

Notice too that John Stagliano states that if the company sending out notices on his behalf as asking for $500+ that they completely misrepresented themselves to him...as he thought they were going after people for a small amount under $100.