Megaupload’s Kim Schmitz arrested in Auckland..site shut down..Anonymous hacks back..SOPA not needed to extradite

http://www.3news.co.nz/Megauploads-Kim-Schmitz-arrested-in-Auckland-site-shut-down/tabid/412/articleID/240007/Default.aspx

One of the world’s largest file-sharing sites was shut down this morning, its founder arrested in Auckland, and several company executives charged with violating piracy laws, US federal prosecutors said.

Online activists Anonymous struck back almost instantly, shutting down both the US Justice Department and Universal Music’s websites in a response called ‘Operation Payback’.

Soon after, websites for the Motion Picture Association of America and the US Copyright office were also targeted, according to tech website Gizmodo.

“It was in retaliation for Megaupload, as was the concurrent attack on Justice.gov,” said Anonymous operative Barret Brown.

Mr Brown also said: “more is coming” and other members of Anonymous are pursuing a joint effort with others to “damage campaign raising abilities of remaining Democrats who support SOPA”.

An indictment accuses Megaupload.com of costing copyright holders more than US$500 million in lost revenue from pirated films and other content. The indictment was unsealed one day after websites including Wikipedia and Craigslist shut down in protest of two congressional proposals intended to thwart online piracy.

The Justice Department said in a statement said that Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, and three others were arrested Friday morning north of Auckland at the request of US officials. Two other defendants still at large are not believed to be in New Zealand.

Dotcom is founder, former CEO and current chief innovation officer of Megaupload.

• Read the full statement on the FBI website

The arrest was carried out by the Organised & Financial Crime Agency New Zealand and police following a “mutual legal assistance request from the US to arrest individuals for the purpose of extradition”.

All those arrested this morning will appear in the North Shore District Court this afternoon.

Police have also seized luxury cars with an estimated total value of up to $6m.

These include a Rolls Royce Phantom Drophead Coupe valued at over NZ$500,000. Over $10m has also been seized from NZ financial institutions.

“The FBI contacted New Zealand police in early 2011 with a request to assist with their investigation into the ‘Mega Conspiracy’,” says Det Insp Grant Wormald.

“We were happy to provide this assistance. Staff from OFCANZ and New Zealand police have worked with the US authorities over recent months to effect today’s successful operation.

“All the accused have been indicted in the United States. We will continue to work with the US authorities to assist with the extradition proceedings.”

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-16642369

Megaupload, one of the internet’s largest file-sharing sites, has been shut down by officials in the US.

The site’s founders have been charged with violating piracy laws.

Federal prosecutors have accused it of costing copyright holders more than $500m (£320m) in lost revenue. The firm says it was diligent in responding to complaints about pirated material.

The news came a day after anti-piracy law protests, but investigators said they were ordered two weeks ago.

The US Justice Department said that Megaupload’s two co-founders Kim Dotcom, formerly known as Kim Schmitz, and Mathias Ortmann were arrested in Auckland, New Zealand along with two other employees of the business at the request of US officials. It added that three other defendants were still at large.

“This action is among the largest criminal copyright cases ever brought by the United States and directly targets the misuse of a public content storage and distribution site to commit and facilitate intellectual property crime,” said a statement posted on its website.

http://rt.com/usa/news/anonymous-doj-universal-sopa-235/

Hacktivists with the collective Anonymous are waging an attack on the website for the White House after successfully breaking the sites for the Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America.

In response to today’s federal raid on the file sharing service Megaupload, hackers with the online collective Anonymous have broken the websites for the Department of Justice, Universal Music Group, RIAA and Motion Picture Association of America.

“It was in retaliation for Megaupload, as was the concurrent attack on Justice.org,” Anonymous operative Barrett Brown tells RT on Thursday afternoon.

Only hours before the DoJ and Universal sites went down, news broke that Megaupload, a massive file sharing site with a reported 50 million daily users, was taken down by federal agents. Four people linked to Megaupload were arrested in New Zealand and an international crackdown led agents to serving at least 20 search warrants across the globe.

Less than an hour after the DoJ and Universal sites came down, the website for the RIAA, or Recording Industry Association of America, went offline as well. Shortly before 6 p.m EST, the government’s Copyright.gov site went down as well.

Minutes later, MPAA.org also returned an error as Anonymous hacktivists managed to bring the website for the Motion Picture Association of America. The group, headed by former senator Chris Dodd, is an adamant supporter of both PIPA and SOPA legislation.

Universal Music Group, or UMG, is the largest record company in the United States and under its umbrella are the labels Interscope-Geffen-A&M, the Island Def Jam Motown Music Group and Mercury Records.

Brown adds that “more is coming” and Anonymous-aligned hacktivists are pursuing a joint effort with others to “damage campaign raising abilities of remaining Democrats who support SOPA.”

Although many members of Congress have just this week changed their stance on the controversial Stop Online Piracy Act, or SOPA, the raid on Megaupload Thursday proved that the feds don’t need SOPA or its sister legislation, PIPA, in order to pose a blow to the Web.

Brown adds that operatives involved in the project will use an “experimental campaign” and search engine optimization techniques “whereby to forever saddle some of these congressmen with their record on this issue.”

————

the shape of things to come?

note SOPA isnt needed here..they already have enough rules to take you down and bring you to the USA..whos next?

“the raid on Megaupload Thursday proved that the feds don’t need SOPA or its sister legislation, PIPA, in order to pose a blow to the Web”

the war has started..watch as they build a case for even more control to reign in the “hacktivists”..and exactly who are they anyway?

401

STOP PRESS: http://gizmodo.com/5877679/anonymous-kills-department-of-justice-site-in-megaupload-revenge-strike

Update: Anonymous says they’ve also knocked off the RIAA’s site—looks down for us at the moment as well.

Update 2: Universal Music Group has also fallen off an e-cliff.

Update 3: Goodbye for now, MPAA.org.

Update 4: Affected sites are bouncing in and out of life, and are at the very least super slow to load. Anon agents are currently trying to coordinate their DDoS attacks in the same direction via IRC.

Update 5: The US Copyright Office joins the list.

Update 6: This Anon sums up the mood in their “official” chat room at the moment:

Danzu: STOP EVERYTHING, who are we DoSing right now?

Update 7: Russian news service RT claims this is the largest coordinated attack in Anonymous’ history—over 5,600 DDoS zealots blasting at once.

Update 8: the Anonymous DDoS planning committee is chittering so quickly, it’s making my laptop fan spin.

Update 9: Major record label BMI is down for the count.

Update 10: La résistance est international—French copyright authority HADOPI bites the dust under Anon pressure.

~ by seeker401 on January 20, 2012.