Risks increase for first copy uploaders on BT & ed2k

[TankGirl]

mi2n:

BayTSP Launches New Service That Identifies First Uploads To EDonkey, Bit Torrent P2P File-Sharing Networks

BayTSP, a leading provider of online intellectual property monitoring and compliance systems, announced FirstSource, an automated system that identifies the first users to upload copyright- or trademark-protected content to the eDonkey and Bit Torrent peer-to-peer (P2P) networks.

Identifying the first individuals who upload illegal content allows companies to track all subsequent users who download and share a particular file. Initial tests of the FirstSource service indicate that several thousand copies of a movie available for download on the eDonkey and Bit Torrent networks can be traced back to the initial uploaded file.

"Pirated copies of movies and software typically appear online within hours of release," said Mark Ishikawa, CEO of BayTSP. "Identifying and taking action against the first uploaders can greatly slow the distribution of illegally-obtained intellectual property and might make users think twice before doing it."

EDonkey and Bit Torrent are two of the most popular file sharing networks and use a technique called swarming that allows users to download slices of a file - like a pirated movie or software application - from multiple other users simultaneously. As users download a file, they also share the portions they've already received.

FirstSource monitors for the first uploads of a client's intellectual property to the eDonkey and Bit Torrent networks. When the system spots a file name matching the client's content, it initiates a download to confirm that the file is what it appears to be. Once the content is validated, the system captures the IP (Internet Protocol) address and identifying information of other users downloading and sharing the pirated material.

The system also logs which portions of the file that each user shares. This data is stored in an infringement database as evidence in the event the client decides to pursue litigation against the file sharers.

Clients can monitor the system via a Web-based interface and have the option of automatically or manually issuing Digital Millennium Copyright Act-compliant take down notices, even while the downloads are still in progress.

[multi]

bad news...thats really going to throw a spanner in the works..

[theknife]

it's only going to work on copies of releases that are registered to specific individuals or organizations, right? so while it might slow the initial upload of a new release to the Internet, it's not going to mean much once the movie goes to dvd. in addition, how long before someone figures out how to strip the FirstSource encryption? as we all know, in the arms race of DRM, for every measure, there's usually a countermeasure - and there's folks out there who live for this kind of challenge

[TankGirl]

Originally Posted by theknife

it's only going to work on copies of releases that are registered to specific individuals or organizations, right? so while it might slow the initial upload of a new release to the Internet, it's not going to mean much once the movie goes to dvd. in addition, how long before someone figures out how to strip the FirstSource encryption? as we all know, in the arms race of DRM, for every measure, there's usually a countermeasure - and there's folks out there who live for this kind of challenge

No, this is not about registered or watermarked copies given to e.g. media representatives but about tracking the releasers who do the initial seeding of a particular work on BT or ed2k networks. The recent BitTorrent study demonstrated well that it typically takes days until complete copies of a large file (besides the copy of the seeder) start to appear on the network. During these days if is extremely easy to track down the IP number of the person who is feeding the file to the big public. It is much easier for the copyright nazis to make a court case against the original releaser who is doing the uploading consciously and intentionally than against common downloaders who upload chunks of the file just because you can not download without uploading on BitTorrent and ed2k.

- tg

[theknife]

Originally Posted by TankGirl

No, this is not about registered or watermarked copies given to e.g. media representatives but about tracking the releasers who do the initial seeding of a particular work on BT or ed2k networks. The recent BitTorrent study demonstrated well that it typically takes days until complete copies of a large file (besides the copy of the seeder) start to appear on the network. During these days if is extremely easy to track down the IP number of the person who is feeding the file to the big public. It is much easier for the copyright nazis to make a court case against the original releaser who is doing the uploading consciously and intentionally than against common downloaders who upload chunks of the file just because you can not download without uploading on BitTorrent and ed2k.

- tg

but how do they find the ip of the releaser once the file has been released? in other words, i can see how they could trace all pieces of a movie back to one source, but how do they know who that source is, once the file has been fully uploaded?

[TankGirl]

Originally Posted by theknife

but how do they find the ip of the releaser once the file has been released? in other words, i can see how they could trace all pieces of a movie back to one source, but how do they know who that source is, once the file has been fully uploaded?

What they get is essentially the full distribution history of each file, showing when and from which IP number the file became first available, when and from which IP numbers it was downloaded from, when these secondary copies got completed and how long they were shared etc. In other words, it's an open book for the malicious parties to read from. The point is to monitor the process from the very beginning, which is no problem at all with automated software.

With a fully recorded distribution history the bad guys can then file a John Doe case against the original source, to force the ISP to reveal who had the IP number at the given time etc.

- tg

[multi]

could the file hash or something be rewritten in the code of the edonkey/emule clients
to try and confuse any information gathering tools like this ?

[TankGirl]

Originally Posted by multi

could the file hash or something be rewritten in the code of the edonkey/emule clients
to try and confuse any information gathering tools like this ?

Not really. You don't want to mess with the hash numbers as correct hash numbers are needed to verify the integrity of the downloads. And it is pointless to try to hide any information in any particular clients as the security problem is in the protocol itself, and the bad guys do not depend on any publicly available clients.

To protect the first copy uploaders from being identified both BT and ed2k networks would need serious architectural changes, basically the introduction of some sort of anonymizing system or layer along the lines of MUTE and ANts.

- tg

[JackSpratts]

transmissions to several dozen hosts via private networks leading to simultaneous releases into the torrent streams might diffuse initial targeting attempts by copyright extremists, much like the schooling of fish insures at least some endure. it's how i might do it, but a stopgap measure at most.

it's not the best news i've heard all week - just further inspiration to do better and make our own systems that much more robust and survivable.

- js.

[theknife]

Originally Posted by TankGirl

Not really. You don't want to mess with the hash numbers as correct hash numbers are needed to verify the integrity of the downloads. And it is pointless to try to hide any information in any particular clients as the security problem is in the protocol itself, and the bad guys do not depend on any publicly available clients.

To protect the first copy uploaders from being identified both BT and ed2k networks would need serious architectural changes, basically the introduction of some sort of anonymizing system or layer along the lines of MUTE and ANts.

- tg

alternately, first copy uploaders could just go find a free hotspot somewhere....