MediaDefender works on behalf of the music industry; their goal is to shut down any Internet-based activity that the music industry doesn't control. As might be expected from an industry that's attempting to enforce an untenable position, MediaDefender quickly adopted questionable tactics, such as using false-flag operations to "poison" file sharing networks and put spyware on people's computers. Now we have learned something new: part of MediaDefender's modus operandi is to sneak into legitimate file-sharing networks and steal bandwidth.
This became part of the public record when MediaDefender "accidentally" launched a massive Denial of Service attack against Revision 3, a company that uses file-sharing to distribute its videos. Revision 3 noticed a security hole and fixed it; MediaDefender's servers promptly crippled Revision 2 by sending 8,000 packets per second to Revision 3's servers — which took down Revision 3's web site, RSS feeds, and even internal email.
The FBI is investigating. Since HP eventually proved liable when its investigator hirlings were caught acting illegally, maybe we'll all get lucky and the same thing will happen to the people who hired MediaDefender.
Topics: · intellectual+property
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