[Infowarrior] - Torrentspy names alleged MPAA hacker

[Richard Forno]

Torrentspy names alleged MPAA hacker

By Greg Sandoval
http://news.com.com/Torrentspy+names+alleged+MPAA+hacker/2100-1030_3-6087146
.html

Story last modified Fri Jun 23 05:13:58 PDT 2006

A month after accusing the Motion Picture Association of America of
conspiring to commit data theft, the operators of a file search engine
presented more details regarding the alleged relationship between the MPAA
and a man who admits hacking the small company's network.

Valence Media, the parent company of Torrentspy.com, charges that the MPAA
paid the Canadian resident $15,000 for information on Torrentspy and its
executives, according to documents filed Thursday with the U.S. District
Court for the Central District of California in Los Angeles.

"I contacted (the MPAA) and offered to provide it information regarding
(Torrentspy.com founder) Justin Bunnell and Torrentspy," according to a
signed statement by Robert Anderson, the man identified elsewhere in the
filing as a "hacker."

Among the claims by Valence Media is that as part of its attempt to gather
information on Torrentspy, the MPAA hired private investigators to comb the
trash cans of Torrentspy executives. Valence Media obtained this information
from Anderson, who for undisclosed reasons has agreed to help the company
against the MPAA, according to copy of the suit obtained by CNET News.com.
Valence Media has asked a judge to order the MPAA to turn over the
information taken by Anderson and to identify anyone that the MPAA may have
shared it with.

This is the latest volley in a legal battle that began in February, when the
MPAA sued Torrentspy and other directories that it accuses of contributing
to the theft of copyright movies. Some file sharers use search engines, such
as Torrentspy, to locate downloadable movies. The MPAA has aggressively
pursued those accused of distributing copyright material, as well as
directories that the MPAA says are abetting piracy.

An MPAA spokeswoman did not immediately return phone calls, but the
association issued a broad denial to Torrentspy's initial charges.

Valence Media charged in its suit that on June 10, 2005, MPAA executives met
with Anderson, a resident of Vancouver, Canada. Dean Garfield, the MPAA's
director of legal affairs, was among the association's representatives who
agreed to pay Anderson $15,000 to obtain private e-mails, financial and
technology information, according to the court documents. Garfield could not
be immediately reached for comment.

An MPAA executive told Anderson: "We don't care how you get it," Valence
Media alleges in the court documents.

Anderson, who could not be immediately reached for comment, was successful
at breaching Torrentspy's computer system, Valence Media alleges. By rigging
Torrentspy's e-mail system, Anderson received copies of company e-mail as
soon as they were sent or received, as well as important login information,
according to the suit. This allowed him broad access to company data,
Valence Media claims.

The company's suit said Anderson managed to pilfer a spreadsheet of company
earnings and expenses, indexes of file architecture, screen shots of
proprietary search functions and even a utility bill belonging to one
Torrentspy executive.

In July 2005, the MPAA reviewed Anderson's work and wired $15,000 to a
Toronto-based bank account, according to the court documents.

Sometime after, Anderson had a change of heart, according to a signed
statement by Anderson that was included in the court filing. In fact,
Anderson was actually acquainted with Bunnell. He had done some marketing
work for another company associated with Bunnell, Anderson said in his
statement, but his relationship with the Torrentspy founder apparently ended
acrimoniously in April 2005.

"After our business relationship ended, I was upset with Justin Bunnell,"
Anderson said in the statement. He then contacted the MPAA and offered to
retrieve information on Torrentspy executives including Bunnell, as well as
other Torrent file search engines.

Anderson has provided a written agreement signed by an MPAA executive and
other documentation related to Anderson being hired to gather information on
Torrentspy and its executives, said Ira Rothken, Valence Media's attorney.

Also included in the filing is a copy of the alleged contract that was
signed by Anderson and MPAA executives. Some of the information filed with
the court was obscured, including names. Rothken said the names of Anderson
and MPAA executives can be found on the original contract.

The purported contract includes a paragraph calling for the gathering of
information on other peer-to-peer companies and torrent directories at odds
with the MPAA, including The Pirate Bay, eXeem and Mininova.

Importantly, the contract specifies that the MPAA expected information to be
obtained through legal means.

Such statements won't save the MPAA from liability in this case, argued
Rothken. "There's an irony that they could put a clause into a contact and
that would allow them to turn a blind eye to hiring a hacker," Rothken said.
"There's no magical term that lets them off the hook."

Valence Media's latest filing, which asks for unspecified damages, comes
after the company and the MPAA met over a 10-day period to discuss turning
over whatever Anderson had provided the trade association, according to the
lawsuit. The talks were unsuccessful, Rothken said.

It's unclear what prompted Anderson to cooperate with Torrentspy and risk
possible criminal prosecution. "The only person that would know the precise
answer to that is him," Rothken said. "We believe that he broke the law in a
serious manner...we're encouraged that after making a big mistake he's now
mitigating his wrongdoing by providing information about things he did so we
can take remedial action against the MPAA."