Saturday, January 21, 2012

FBI Hacked After Piracy Charges

FBI Hacked After Piracy Charges
Shortly after the U.S. Justice Department filed online piracy charges against megaupload.com and related sites, hackers said they took down the FBI’s site. Efforts to access fbi.gov were unsuccessful last night. The hacker group Anonymous claimed via Twitter it had hacked into the FBI and record label sites in retaliation for the indictment against megaupload for alleged piracy of copyright material. The piracy allegedly generated $175 million in criminal proceeds and an estimated $500 million damage to copyright owners, officials said. Seven people and two corporations – Megaupload Limited and Vestor Limited – have been indicted on charges of engaging in a racketeering conspiracy, conspiring to commit copyright infringement and conspiring to commit money laundering. The indictment alleges the involved websites unlawfully reproduced and distributed infringing copies of copyrighted works, including movies – often before their theatrical release – and music, television programs, electronic books, software.