ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

[dad]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

Ames,

Good questions. As I understand it was a list of ALL sky broadband customers as well as those 'alledged' to have pirated copyright material.

Regarding court orders, the jurisdiction arises from the 'Norwich Pharmacal' case. See here for an explanation of how it works http://www.gillhams.com/dictionary/556.cfm

As I understand it generally copies of orders can be obtained from the court where they were made. But in some circumstances the court may order that the order is kept secret where this would frustrate the purpose of the order.

I note from the explanation in the link above that Norwich Pharmacal orders are only to be made as a last resort, so may be they did not have enough info to go after BT and virgin.

As I understand it they should present a list of IP addresses which have been recorded in the system logs of web sites containing pirated materials.

It is possible to forge IP addresses, but it is far too early in the morning to go into an explanation of the weaknesses of the Internet Protocol!

HTH

Dad

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

Thanks Dad. I'll have a look at the Pharmacal link, just washed over me a bit yesterday.

The jurisdiction is not limited by a particular cause of action in the hands of the claimant, as it is of a general application

Thats worrying isn't it ? So ACS Law could just go with a list of IP Addresses to court and ask for disclosure without having to evidence any wrong doing on the part of those IP Addresses ?

Where would ACS Law have obtained the IP Addresses in order to request an order under Norwich Pharmcal ?. If the IP Addresses are accused of illegally downloading movies/music etc through pirate/torrent sites how would ACS have obtained the IP Addresses in the first place (as I dont expect the pirate/torrent sites just give them over willynilly), would they also have come from the service providers (and is that what people are talking about with Skys co-operation) ?

Okay, so say I visit PirateBay, and download a movie... PirateBay have a record of my IP.

Also my service provider, Plusnet , know that my IP has visited that site and have downloaded material (as they keep records for download upload type limits etc).

The rights are held by XXX Ltd, so XXX Ltd employ ACS LAW to ask Plusnet for all IP addresses that have downloaded a specific film through PirateBay ??

Plusnet said that they were given a list of IP Addresses, and court ordered to supply the addresses, so that doesnt scan, so how do ACS get the IP addresses in the first place ?

Plusnet explain it as

Copyright holders and legal firms such as ACS:Law employ the help of third party companies, such as Digiprotect and Logistep, who use bespoke monitoring software to identify the 'IP addresses' of people connecting to file sharing networks. They specifically target those uploading content belonging to the copyright holder they're working on behalf of.

As I dont understand how that can work without the file sharing networks cooperation it doesnt ring true.

I don't like not understanding lol

Ame
xx

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

Some responses from the ISPs

TalkTalk's Executive Director of Strategy and Regulation, Andrew Heaney, said:

"TalkTalk has never given any customer details to ACS:Law or any other law firm working on this basis, so our customers will not be affected by this breach.

It’s a stark reminder of the dangers of giving out customer details to third parties in trying to combat filesharing. While we do not condone illegal filesharing, we have consistently argued for better ways of combating copyright theft. Handing over customer details to law firms to seek ‘compensation’, based on accusations from rightsholders, is not the answer.

Tracking down illegal filesharers is complex and the current approach isn’t working. The first problem is around detection: if you can only see what’s being downloaded at each connection, how do you know which of the several users has actually infringed copyright?

Secondly, we’ve demonstrated before how it’s possible for connections to be hacked by serial filesharers. Again, this can result in false accusations being made against subscribers and is the key reason why we’ve refused to hand over our customers’ details to ACS:Law or any other law firm working in this way."

The Chief Technology Officer for Timico UK, Trefor Davies, said:

"£636,758.22 is apparently the amount of money ACS Law claim to have made out of hounding broadband subscribers for payment for “alleged” Copyright Infringement.

Based on a commission of 30%, £191,027.47 is what the firm would have made out of these unsavoury antics. £500,000.00 is the fine that ACS Law could be hit with for revealing their victims’ details on their website.

It is easy to see why ACS Law wanted to keep going after its victims. Shed no tears. Feel compassion for the many people whose lives have been affected by ACS Law. I wonder whether the firm will survive."

Outside of the potential for a huge fine and massive media flogging, ACS:Law could also now find it hard to gain much, if any, cooperation from ISPs in the future.

A Statement from Sky Broadband said:

"Following recent events, we have suspended all cooperation with ACS:Law with immediate effect. This suspension will remain in place until ACS:Law demonstrates adequate measures to protect the security of personal information.

We continue to be very concerned at the apparent loss of data held by ACS:Law and by the actions of those who have sought to publicise the identities of individual customers. Like other broadband providers, Sky can be required to disclose information about customers whose accounts are alleged to have been used for illegal downloading. We support the principle that copyright material should be protected and we cooperate with court orders requiring disclosure.

Because the security of customer information is also a high priority, we only ever disclose such data in encrypted form. In addition, we have an agreement with ACS:Law that requires data to be stored and used safely and securely."

A PlusNet Statement to The Guardian said:

"Our first concern is with our customers but we have been obliged to respond to court orders requiring that we disclose customer data. However, there is increasing evidence that there are deep concerns regarding the integrity of the process being used by rights holders to obtain customer data from ISPs for pursuing alleged copyright infringements.

We need to have further confidence that the initial information gathered by rights holders is robust and that our customers will not be treated unfairly. We are urgently exploring how this can be assured, including through the assistance of the courts."

ACS:Law's leak also revealed that the firm deliberately avoided targeting two ISPs, TalkTalk and Virgin Media UK, both of which were apparently too much trouble. No customer details for either were found in the leak. However ACS:Law did send letters to several Virgin Media customers in 2009 and it would be wrong to assume that they are both "safe" ISPs.


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Sadly we do not anticipate that the government or Ofcom will take any notice of the huge flaws in P2P / IP tracking methods that have been exposed by this leak, and which will also be used by the Digital Economy Act 2010 (DEA). Neither MP's nor Rights Holders appear to understand how the internet works or comprehend the huge holes in the data that they propose to use.

UK ISPs Respond to ACS Law Confidential File Sharing Details Email Leak ISPreview UK


So from that it sounds as though IP details were given voluntarily by the ISPs to ACS Law and only the names and addressses were under court orders?

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

"This is a perfect example of why the law needs to be changed in this country to allow victims of data breaches to sue for compensation on grounds of defamation, not just financial loss. At the moment, you can only seek compensation for loss of reputation once financial loss has been proven. This can't be right. Imagine the consequences for a school teacher who erroneously appeared on this list."

Indeed.


Very interesting ref the Dig Econ Bill - Search Results | Houses of Parliament


Also, its not illegal to download stuff, its illegal to upload/share stuff so they can only get people who have left torrent connections opens for others to download off (seeding?) - something like that anyway - irrelevant to why I was interested in the process of disclosure of identities though so hvent gone too deep on that side of things.


And I get it now.

[mr.ton]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

You all might find this interesting....
http://www.ueof.co.uk/acslaw/?_task=login
Mr Crossleys emails (just click the login button and it will take you straight there)

[The Debt Star]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

'kinnell, this is MASSIVE!
------------------------------- merged -------------------------------
actually thinking about it I'll delete that email to and from Mr Crossley! read it yourselves on Ton's link, above

That's enough talk of airbeds and Andrew Crossley for one day.

[mr.ton]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

I wouldnt wish ill on anyone, but you cant help but feel that this is all deserved karma for Mr Crossley.
He has pushed the general public too far & threatened them too much etc....

[Differentjudge]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

cant wait to get home and have a proper read of all those emails....lol

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

I think discussion of the content is alright from a general interest perspective, relating to the business affairs. Am not too comfortable with the personal stuff, and I dont think there is much need to post content of the emails on here, if we could not do that please.

don't know what anyone else thinks ?

[The Debt Star]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

I wouldnt wish ill on anyone, but you cant help but feel that this is all deserved karma for Mr Crossley.

that, my friend, is at the very heart of all this. Lets hope it acts as a warning to the DCAs and creditors pushing people to stand in fron of a train each morning.

Yes, I agree Ame and that's why I lifted it. But anger with these savage debt collectors is very deep.

[mr.ton]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

I agree Amethyst - post things to do with the business side of everything etc.....but lets all try & refrain from the personal side of things.

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

Thanks guys x

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

Oops BT are in the poop now

BBC News - BT embroiled in ACS:Law porn list breach

BT has admitted it sent the personal details of more than 500 customers as an unsecured document to legal firm ACS:Law, following a court order.
The news could put BT in breach of the Data Protection Act, which requires firms to keep customers' data secure at all times.

Simon Davies, from the watchdog Privacy International, told BBC News that BT had "comprehensively breached" the Data Protection Act.
"More significantly, they appear to be in contempt of a high court order," he added.
The order, he said, was made in the High Court of Justice before Chief Master Winegarten on 7 July 2010.
The ruling, ordering internet service providers to hand over data to ACS:Law, states that it should be provided in an "electronic text format by way of Microsoft Excel file saved in an encrypted form to a compact disk, or any other digital media".
Mr Davies said he was going to write to the High Court and to the Attorney General and press for proceedings for contempt of court to be brought against BT.

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open

An excellent PIL article ACS:Law and the Norwich Pharmacal Orders | WiredVC | Venture Capital and Funding News

[Amethyst]

Re: ACS Law - embarassed and cracked wide open



Details held by ACS: Law - ICO
The ICO has contacted ACS: Law about the possible breach of the Data Protection Act which saw details of people alleged to have shared films or music appear on the internet.
The ICO takes all breaches of the Data Protection Act very seriously. Any organisation processing personal data must ensure that it is kept safe and secure. This is an important principle of the Act.
We have contacted the company to establish further facts of the case and to identify what action, if any, needs to be taken.
Please note that we do not require any evidence from members of the public to proceed with our investigation.
We will publish further information about our investigation on our website as appropriate.


Useful items

• ICO statement on the ACS:Law data breach, 29 September 2010

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Statement
29 September 2010
ACS:Law – Data breach
A spokesperson for the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) said:
“The ICO takes all breaches of the Data Protection Act very seriously. Any organisation processing personal data must ensure that it is kept safe and secure. This is an important principle of the Act. The ICO will be contacting ACS:Law to establish further facts of the case and to identify what action, if any, needs to be taken.”
For all media enquires, please contact the ICO press office on 0207 025 7580
For all general enquires, please contact the ICO customer service team on 08456 306060





Not only but also........

30 September 2010
Forth Valley NHS Board puts sensitive patient details at risk
http://www.ico.gov.uk/upload/documen...ing_300910.pdf