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EliteTorrents shut down by U.S. customs and FBI

25 May 2005 19:30 by James "Dela" Delahunty | 139 comments

EliteTorrents, a well known and one of the most used BitTorrent sites has been shut down today by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and US Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Here is the entire press release...

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Acting Assistant Attorney General John C. Richter of the Criminal Division, Homeland Security Assistant Secretary for Immigration and Customs Enforcement Michael J. Garcia, and Assistant Director Louis M. Reigel of the FBI's Cyber Division today announced the first criminal enforcement action targeting individuals committing copyright infringement on peer-to-peer (P2P) networks using cutting EDGE file-sharing technology known as BitTorrent.

This morning, agents of the FBI and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) executed 10 search warrants across the United States against leading members of a technologically sophisticated P2P network known as Elite Torrents. Employing technology known as BitTorrent, the Elite Torrents network attracted more than 133,000 members and, in the last four months, allegedly facilitated the illegal distribution of more than 17,800 titles-including movies and software-which were downloaded 2.1 million times.

In addition to executing 10 warrants, federal agents also took control of the main server that coordinated all file-sharing activity on the Elite Torrents network. Anyone attempting to log on to Elitetorrents.org today will receive the following message: "This Site Has been Permanently Shut Down by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement."

"Our goal is to shut down as much of this illegal operation as quickly as possible to stem the serious financial damage to the victims of this high-tech piracy-the people who labor to produce these copyrighted products," said Acting Assistant Attorney General Richter. "Today's crackdown sends a clear and unmistakable message to anyone involved in the online theft of copyrighted works that they cannot hide behind new technology."

"Internet pirates cost U.S. industry hundreds of billions of dollars in lost revenue every year from the illegal sale of copyrighted goods and new online file-sharing technologies make their job even easier," said Assistant Secretary Garcia. "Through today's landmark enforcement actions, ICE and the FBI have shut down a group of online criminals who were using legitimate technology to create one-stop shopping for the illegal sharing of movies, games, software and music."

"The theft of copyrighted material is far from a victimless crime," said Assistant Director Reigel of the FBI. "When thieves steal this data, they are taking jobs away from hard workers in industry, which adversely impacts the U.S. economy. The FBI remains committed to working with our partners in law enforcement at all levels and private industry to identify and take action against those responsible."

Building on the success of Operation Gridlock, a similar takedown announced by federal law enforcement last August that has already led to the felony convictions of three P2P copyright thieves, Operation D-Elite targeted the administrators and "first providers" or suppliers of copyrighted content to the Elite Torrents network. By utilizing BitTorrent, the newest generation of P2P technology, Elite Torrents members could download even the largest files-such as those associated with movies and software-far faster than was possible using more traditional P2P technology.

The content selection available on the Elite Torrents network was virtually unlimited and often included illegal copies of copyrighted works before they were available in retail stores or movie theatres. For example, the final entry in the Star Wars series, "Episode III: Revenge of the Sith," was available for downloading on the network more than six hours before it was first shown in theatres. In the next 24 hours, it was downloaded more than 10,000 times.

Operation D-Elite is being conducted jointly by ICE and the FBI as part of the Computer And Technology Crime High Tech Response Team (CATCH), a San Diego task force of specially trained prosecutors and law enforcement officers who focus on high-tech crime. Federal and state member agencies of CATCH include the ICE, the FBI, the Department of Justice, the San Diego District Attorney's Office, San Diego Police Department, the San Diego Sheriff's Department, and San Diego County Probation.

Operation D-Elite was coordinated and will be prosecuted by the Justice Department's Computer Crime and Intellectual Property Section, with the assistance and support of Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (CHIP) coordinators in San Diego and U.S. Attorneys' Offices in Arizona, Illinois, Kansas, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia and Wisconsin.

The Motion Picture Association of America provided valuable assistance to the investigation.

Early reports from sites like Slyck.com said the site was hacked but as the day went on, it became clear what had happened. The worst thing about the press release for EliteTorrent users is that it seems to imply that some of the users of the site are also under criminal investigation.

Source:
FBI.gov (Press Release)

Thanks to Bravo1, MXGzX and birkirb for your News Submissions.

Permalink to this article

EliteTorrents admin gets 18 months in jail (10 September 2008)

EliteTorrents administrator found guilty (28 June 2008)

New BitTorrent search from Bram Cohen (24 May 2005)

Why all the fuss about Star Wars piracy? (20 May 2005)

BitTorrent Goes Trackerless (19 May 2005)

MPAA sues six TV BitTorrent sites (13 May 2005)

Movie Industry revenue booming despite piracy (5 May 2005)

DVDR-Core owner set to stand up to MPAA (16 March 2005)

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Discuss this article!	There are more user comments available, read them here
Mr_Del (Member) 9 June 2005 15:31
@rx29 Your web link does not work. And yes I would not be suprised if some people in here work for them. Would even be funny if the program your link is for is also working for them. You never know. Im not that paranoid though. Keep it legle as best you can then you have nothing to worry about. Never hurts to invest in an external HDD. They come off the computer very easy. end @ On another note. I am trying to see who would be interested in a 2 month Media boycott. You may have already read about it in another thread. For just in case I put it here as well. -Del AMD64 3200 \| ASUS K8N-e Delux \| 1 Gig Kingston Hyper X \| 120 gig WD SATA \| ATI X800 Pro \| SONY 2.4x DVD +/- Burner \| 19" Sony LCD DVI AMD Samperon 2600 \| DFI MB \| 512 Kingston value \| 40 Gig Samsung IDE \| ATI Radeon 9600 Pro Toshiba Satellite 1905-S [ + quote]
rx29 (Junior Member) 9 June 2005 18:44
sorry about the web link; I probably gave the wrong address. one is wilders security and one is some religous site. I would boycott, but we are so tight on cash we really don't do media that much. that is why I got into p2p.also I have an obsessive personality and hate rules that condemn or effect free speech. rx29 [ + quote]
rx29 (Junior Member) 9 June 2005 18:49
hey,I forgot to ask, is there a good program for wiping all info of past exploits off computer? I already have external memory. rx29 [ + quote]
rx29 (Junior Member) 9 June 2005 18:53
one last thing- IDBlaster is from Javacool. It's freeware and I'll bet you can find it anywhere. rx29 [ + quote]
Arnold2 (Member) 10 June 2005 14:51
sounds like a good idea ID-Blaster Plus 2.0 Destroy tracking tactics by randomizing GUID/Unique ID numbers found on your computer. http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/idblaster.html [ + quote]
Oriphus (AfterDawn Addict) 17 June 2005 17:14
Quote: Sharing is sharing, and trading is trading etc. I dont feel that anyone has abused anything. I have no idea why the US government got involved except to gain extra revenue of tax dollars in which they misuse anyways. I posted an example on tax revenue in the "Whats all the fuss about Star Wars" forum! Come on mate, Copyrights are there for a purpose. if you feel there is nothing wrong with sharing movies and stuff, your living in denial. Its basically stealing. You dont own the movie on the disc, you own the licence to watch it. The licence does not allow you to duplicate it...if you do this by whatever means, you are stealing... The US government got involved because in the first hour that the New Star Wars was released, 10,000 individuals had downloaded it. In the first day over 2,000,000 apparently downloaded it. Even if it slowed down, by a fortnight over 10,000,000 would have downloaded it, thats 10,000,000 x $5 tickets = $50,000,000 in lost revenue. I think you can see why its a problem... For your DVD needs http://www.dvd-and-media.com http://www.dvd-backup.tk For User Guides/Downloads: http://www.chrismccann.co.uk/user_guides.htm [ + quote]
Mr_Del (Member) 17 June 2005 17:26
But you should be allowed to backup the things you buy in case it gets damaged. I see plenty wrong in the Star Wars scenario. If you are not renting and copying or selling your copies I see no reason why you can't make backups of your films. Yes I know people would backup and sell the copies but that is not my intention or to make it available on-line. Let the crooks do that. Although Hollywood items are over priced those involved should get something for the entertainment you had from it. Nobody likes to work for free. $8 a DVD ($3 each additional in a set) $3 a music CD $4 VHS (plastic cost money) This is my suggested price guide that may lessen piracy. Make things more affordable and most would have no reason to steal it. All prices for anything in a theater MUST be lowered, including the ticket for the movie. More people may actually go to the movies if that happened. Just my thoughts -Del AMD64 3200 \| ASUS K8N-e Delux \| 1 Gig Kingston Hyper X \| 120 gig WD SATA \| ATI X800 Pro \| SONY 2.4x DVD +/- Burner \| 19" Sony LCD DVI AMD Samperon 2600 \| DFI MB \| 512 Kingston value \| 40 Gig Samsung IDE \| ATI Radeon 9600 Pro Toshiba Satellite 1905-S [ + quote]
Oriphus (AfterDawn Addict) 17 June 2005 17:49
Hey Del, im all for back-ups, in fact i have 1000's of them (DVD) and i think you should be allowed to make them. For your DVD needs http://www.dvd-and-media.com http://www.dvd-backup.tk For User Guides/Downloads: http://www.chrismccann.co.uk/user_guides.htm [ + quote]
Rotary (AfterDawn Addict) 17 June 2005 22:19
hi all @ Oriphus how are you good buddy? long time no chat.... wheres all ya guides gone in your sig link? hope you have been well and in good health regards rotary... We/I help out for free, so dont shoot us ;-])... [ + quote]
Oriphus (AfterDawn Addict) 18 June 2005 4:04
Hey Rotary mate, im keeping well thanks (though im dying with a nasty cold and chest infection at the min). My guides are still on my computer, but they are hosted anywhere. I didnt have the time to maintain Chrismccann.co.uk or dvd-backup.tk. If anyone wants the to host the guides, thay can feel free. They havent been updated or anything, but they are still fairly relevant. How's things with you buddy? Anything new? Im still about here on AD, just usually post stuff in the Displays forum, cuz there are too many experts in all the others, im kinda redundant lol. For your DVD needs http://www.dvd-and-media.com http://www.dvd-backup.tk For User Guides/Downloads: http://www.chrismccann.co.uk/user_guides.htm [ + quote]
Arnold2 (Member) 18 June 2005 7:28
ID-Blaster Plus 2.0 Destroy tracking tactics by randomizing GUID/Unique ID numbers found on your computer. http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/idblaster.html Not a good thing with our satellite Internet connection. Could not surf after a reboot, maybe some settings should be different, dunno. do know we have our share of problems with the connection an need no more. Had to re-setup the whole thing... LOL have done it so much can do it my sleep now. Thanks for the info anyway. DWay, 2-Way-V 4.2.1.10/SP C1/Win XP Pro-SP2 Bld 2600/ASUS P4T BIOS 1003/year 2000/ P4 1.5 /Maxtor 6Y120P0/ Mem 1,024.00 MB/ RADEON 9700 PRO not installed sp2 updated. Grateful for any and all helpful information and guidance. Thank you arnold2 [ + quote]
Arnold2 (Member) 18 June 2005 7:37
Even if it slowed down, by a fortnight over 10,000,000 would have downloaded it, thats 10,000,000 x $5 tickets = $50,000,000 in lost revenue. I think you can see why its a problem... Star Wars over rated anyway but .... People who want to see it will pay to see it and even buy the DVD when ever. Those who are not going to go see it in the first place but curious will dl. I would not count those dl for $$... I have dl a lot of trash ... lol DWay, 2-Way-V 4.2.1.10/SP C1/Win XP Pro-SP2 Bld 2600/ASUS P4T BIOS 1003/year 2000/ P4 1.5 /Maxtor 6Y120P0/ Mem 1,024.00 MB/ RADEON 9700 PRO not installed sp2 updated. Grateful for any and all helpful information and guidance. Thank you arnold2 [ + quote]
Sazaziel (Junior Member) 19 June 2005 20:20
In the end people will do what they want to do anyways. I don't wanna hear that crap about lost revenue to some economy. If someone wants to get rich cause somebody wants to go see a movie then good for them. If someone wants to dl a movie then fine with me. The world is based on currency which by the way is based on a bunch of bullshit anyways. If there were no currency then this would not be a problem. You think I care about some millionaire bitching and complaining about who didnt make the extra $2 million cause a movie was downloaded. Not to mention that movies are just an recreational event of entertainment. If there were no movie theatre then would this be a problem....if there was no television would this be a problem. Get real! Copyrights are shit. Maybe they should ban video cameras and copying devices...or maybe even computers so we wouldn't even be having this conversation for instance. Everything is just a bunch of media propaganda to make people like you believe that the more rich and powerful economies in the world are hurting because movies are being downloaded. Thus taking focus off the real picture of the real problems of the world economies. For the record...I live in the U.S. "mate"..... and it is shit here. I'm not gonna sit here and make myself believe that our economy is hurting because of pirated movies...especially in a country where entertainment is very over rated with that life imitates art shit. When dealing with American politics your just dealing with a bunch of shit kickin hypocrites and shit starters thinkin they should police the whole damn world (as you can see by the nonsense war thats going on which is really affecting our economy pretty badly). At the most part American tax dollars are being spent more on defense purposes than the economy itself and the total amount being spent in Iraq nearly exceeds billions of dollars. This includes rebuilding a country after the fact that we destroyed it. I could get more in depth but it would be a waste of time. Until then... yes there are 2 sides of a story but I'll stick to the side of people sharing and trading which was a very real system before currency ever became an issue to the world itself. And anyone please don't try the reverse psychology card this way cause I'm gonna tell you straight up......If I made a movie I really don't care about the fame or the money. In my opinion do as you wish. I'm happy with the fact that people watched it.....but this is me. Yeah I'm hardworkin and between poor and mid class like the average person. I have other problems to deal with...so like most people who use choice as the best weapon....you either buy or you dont. [ + quote]
rx29 (Junior Member) 19 June 2005 21:00
Hi everyone! Okay so we are sick of corruption,politics,soft-pedaling and snitches. It is like a group of people who see an accident;everyone tells the truth as best as they can, and yet each description is different. So we don't buy some stuff. Now what? As for privacy,I am not sure anything really works very well. By the way, no offense Duke8888, but who are you? Do you get a commission or a break for your vigelance and input? take care and have fun! rx29 [ + quote]
rx29 (Junior Member) 19 June 2005 21:02
p.s. is there a way to get a spell check program in here? rx29 [ + quote]
Mr_Del (Member) 20 June 2005 8:12
I have found an answer to spell check. The just recently released Google tool bar has spell check on it. Type all your stuff in and hit the spell check. It will check spelling in your message. -Del AMD64 3200 \| ASUS K8N-e Delux \| 1 Gig Kingston Hyper X \| 120 gig WD SATA \| ATI X800 Pro \| SONY 2.4x DVD +/- Burner \| 19" Sony LCD DVI AMD Samperon 2600 \| DFI MB \| 512 Kingston value \| 40 Gig Samsung IDE \| ATI Radeon 9600 Pro Toshiba Satellite 1905-S [ + quote]
rx29 (Junior Member) 21 June 2005 20:46
Thanks Mr. Del! Hope all is well! rx29 [ + quote]
Arnold2 (Member) 23 June 2005 22:07
A Mouse looked through the crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. "What food might this contain?" he wondered. He was devastated to discover it was a mousetrap. Retreating to the farmyard, the mouse proclaimed the warning. "There is a mousetrap in the house! there Is a mousetrap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said "Mr. Mouse, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The mouse turned to the pig and told him, "There is a mousetrap in the house". The pig sympathized but said, "I am so very sorry Mr.. Mouse, But there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers." The mouse turned to the cow. She said, "Wow, Mr.. Mouse. I'm sorry for you. But it's no skin off my nose." So the mouse returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's mousetrap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house like the sound of a mousetrap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife. The farmer rushed her to the hospital and she returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. But his wife's sickness continued, so friends and neighbors came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them, the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide enough meat for all of them. So next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it doesn't concern you, remember that when one of us is threatened, we are all at risk. DWay, 2-Way-V 4.2.1.10/SP C1/Win XP Pro-SP2 Bld 2600/ASUS P4T BIOS 1003/year 2000/ P4 1.5 /Maxtor 6Y120P0/ Mem 1,024.00 MB/ RADEON 9700 PRO not installed sp2 updated. Grateful for any and all helpful information and guidance. Thank you arnold2 [ + quote]
Rotary (AfterDawn Addict) 24 June 2005 0:13
hi all the people except the mouse didnt do politics, the mouse did... We/I help out for free, so dont shoot us ;-])... [ + quote]
ToxicFish (Member) 24 June 2005 7:15
So how does this correlate to illegal file sharing or the torrent site that was taken down? Let me see, The Mouse is the torrent user, The Trap and Farm owners represent The Government, and The Snake is the malicious excessive torrent-sharing bastard. Oh, also the farm animals are the ignorant people of the world. So we as the ignorant farm animals should fight to keep mousetraps out of the houses so that the mice can spread disease in the house. Did you know that mouse urine is a potent allergen and even lab workers have to take major precaution when working with mice..? So the snake gets sued for distributing current Hollywood movies like crazy, and raises awareness to government officials who tighten the reigns a little on the poor, poor farm animals. You are an idiot. [ + quote]
Arnold2 (Member) 24 June 2005 7:32
LOL, just another way to sat sh__ runs down hill. yes, [ + quote]
Rotary (AfterDawn Addict) 24 June 2005 8:15
hi bit like a painting, its open to enterpretation, and i'm not a lawyer and dont make laws, so it could mean i may get some turkey for dinner, if the mouse keeps his nose out... [ + quote]
Mr_Del (Member) 24 June 2005 10:18
I ate that mouse. It was good. -Del [ + quote]
Rotary (AfterDawn Addict) 24 June 2005 10:27
hi i transcoded that mouse to a camel - but the farmer got the hump... [ + quote]
jdboss (Newbie) 27 July 2005 13:52
i use BearShare (p2p) i have look it and IF you dont Shar just download you cant get dun if you think you can tell me i can now change my ip by useing Steganos Internet Anonym Pro� 7 downlaod load here http://www.steganos.com/?product=SIAPRO7&language=en&layout=web2005 now when i delete I encrypted data 256Bit then i use erase (google it it free) so no 1 can recover it back eg police it right over it 250 time 70% on my 250g hard drive is encrypted /backup on the web (in a week I scan my pc using the top 8 antivirus) Norton antivirus is shit there lots of ways just downlaod DONT Shar and you be OK i bet if i was dun i wood have to pay $50 000 + it finds LOL use ID-Blaster +plus it ok [ + quote]
discusman (Newbie) 6 September 2008 5:56
Guys the view you take is not a good one on this thread. I work for a media replication company www.DiscusGroup.co.uk and I'm not saying this for protection of our business but I see the effects on the small artists and film production companies first hand which stops them from making future quality projects being completed successfully for your enjoyment. First hand I have a friend who I have seen make staff redundant because his content was ripped and put for public access. We whole heartedly support this move and subscribe to FACT, IRMA and voluntary MCPS reporting to stop those without intelligence or skill to create their own content ripping off others who have the brains from being robbed of well deserved income. Remember the next time you see a friend lose a job it could be because it was downloading that lost his company revenue. [ + quote]