Technology achievements

Just recently the police in Hungary conducted raids on various torrent and warez sites, but few will have sympathy for those arrested. The site operators charged users for access via premium SMS, many of them unsuspecting kids. The police seized an impressive amount of equipment and also took some impressive photographs.

In 2007 the US planned to put a federal prosecutor in Budapest, Hungary, to “assist in the coordination of the enforcement of intellectual property laws”. Almost immediately action was taken against some BitTorrent and warez sites operating in the country.

In 2008 it was recommended in an International Intellectual Property Alliance report that Hungary should remain on a piracy ‘watch list’ for that year. The reasons were wide and varied, but included were problems related to widespread ‘pay to leech’ torrent sites, and pay for access warez sites. “It is difficult to energize police and customs officials to investigate Internet cases because Hungarian court decisions are not a deterrent,” said the report.
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Today brings more news of hacking at the hands of Pirate Bay fans endeavoring to show support and solidarity. Is anyone surprised?
While last week brought news of DDoS attacks on the main website of the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry, ifpi.org, which rendered the site sluggish and slow for most of Monday, there was no mention of similar attacks directed at lawyers representing the music, movie and game industries. It seemed the lawyers on the prosecuting side of the Pirate Bay case had made it away unscathed, but not so.

According to TorrentFreak, this past weekend brought similar troubles for Monique Wadsted, a lawyer who represented several major movie studios and called for a “very significant” prison sentence for the defendants during the Pirate Bay Trial. The movie industry lawyer’s site, MAQS, was targeted and yesterday the site displayed a notice informing visitors it was under attack.

“Our website is currently under attack and we have therefore decided to shut it down until the attack ceases. For further information call Monique Wadsted.”

While it was never specified that these attacks were launched by Pirate Bay fans, it’s not exactly a huge leap to make and we’re curious to hear what you guys think. It’s safe to say the majority of you disagree with the verdict reached in court, but do you think it’s out of line for people to be taking matters into their own hands in an attempt to get back at the opposition? The four men found guilty (along with their lawyers) have said they will appeal the verdict and remain adamant that the war is far from over, so are these vigilantes jumping the gun a bit? Or are you of the opinion that TPB fans should be causing the judge, jury and lawyers involved (as well as music, movie and game industries) as many headaches as possible? Leave your thoughts below.