Piracy Investigators Infiltrate Private Torrent Sites

[Hairbautt]

In March, TorrentFreak published an article which aimed to answer the question ‘Are Private BitTorrent Trackers Safe?’ Now, an internet piracy investigator has admitted that his organisation has successfully infiltrated private BitTorrent trackers and is actively collecting information.

Speaking with Guardian Unlimited primarily regarding piracy counter-measures, Peter Anaman, a senior internet investigator for legal firm Covington and Burling has admitted that his organisation has infiltrated unnamed private BitTorrent tracker sites and shares their method of gaining access; "Many groups didn’t start off as private. They became private because they felt threatened, so we were able to get in when they were open” he said.

Anaman indicated that his company maintains a network of contacts who help it gain access to additional private sites, although he isn’t forthcoming about what happens while they’re there, other than information gathering. With a nod towards the increasing difficulty of getting a membership on certain private BitTorrent trackers Anaman added, “Once you’re in, you never take action. You just listen”

In 2005, a successful infiltration operation masterminded by the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) led to the shutdown of the EliteTorrents BitTorrent tracker after they breached the Family Entertainment Act with their involvement in the internet pre-release of Star Wars: Episode III.

Source: TorrentFreak
--- View Related: Are Private BitTorrent Trackers Safe?

[Broken]

I have talked with people on private torrent sites that think they are totally protected from "the powers that be". That some how every member on the site they use is 100% trustworthy.

Reality being, that if you got into this "private" site, how hard do you think it'd be for a pro?

These people are due for a wakeup call. Maybe it is coming soon.

[mbucari1]

This is a bit unsettling. Oh well, What are the chances of them taking me down?

[Hairbautt]

Reality being, that if you got into this "private" site, how hard do you think it'd be for a pro?

These people are due for a wakeup call. Maybe it is coming soon.

I agree, it's just common sense when you think about.

[silent h3ro]

Fuck all these corporations trying to shut down filesharing. They will never win!

Maybe if I saw some fair prices then I would actually buy my music, movies, and games, although I do buy my Xbox 360 games because I want to see the system to do good but I can barely afford it.

[abu_has_the_power]

lol

they can only get in because all these new "private" trackers are showing up that begin as public trackers. they still can't get into the elite. most people can't either. lol

[delimare]

I agree with Abu... the most elite of the elite sites are quite safe indeed. I grew annoyed with sharing and leaving my PC on day and night to seed using torrents which is why I switched to newsgroups.

Personal preference. If you feel safe and untouchable using torrents then, by all means, keep on using them. I'm paranoid as hell so I'll pay the extra buck for the extra peace of mind.

[reaktor]

Any good torrent site will be hard to bring down, or so you would think in theory. The better sites will ban your account after a certain amount of inactivity (just listening). Basically you would think that for them to get access to those sites and maintain their status there long enough for them to get what they need they would have to partake in the illegal activities.

[MelTDowN]

They'll stop one .. so ? New trackers are established each day. They'll never be able to stop it, they'll never win.. just like they did with all the others (drugs etc.). What they will really do, they'll make elite trackers safer and safer

[popopot]

Trackers, elite or not, can and will never be safe. They are always going to accept new members and who knows who they will be. I am sure the authorities will keep and 'active' account in order to stay in touch because they are not that stupid, especially considering they got in there in the first place. However, according to the MPAA/RIAA pyramid of piracy, bittorrent is at the bottom and it would be much more effective to go for the top of the pyramid.