Winny P2p Developer Arrested In Japan

[napho]

They sure have taken it to another level in Japan.

"Japanese police have arrested an elite computer engineer for developing popular piece of software that allows anonymous users to download pirated films and music through a file sharing network.

Isamu Kaneko, 33, was arrested for suspected conspiracy to commit copyright violation by the High-tech Crime Taskforce of the Kyoto Prefectural Police."




http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/s1105174.htm

[JackSpratts]

winny is loosely based on freenet (!) and is amazingly the number 1 file sharing program in japan, it's like kazaa over there, and a lightning-rod politically and legally. here's some other recent news. download.

- js.


Secret Japanese GSDF Data Circulating On File-Sharing Network May '04
Mainichi Shimbun

Over 200 articles of confidential information including internal Ground Self-Defense Force (GSDF) data and wage scales for post office workers have been leaked onto the Internet and can be viewed with the file-sharing software "Winny," it has been learned.

An investigation by the Mainichi found the information available on the file-sharing network on Thursday.

Defense Agency officials said the internal Ground Self-Defense Force data was leaked in November 2002. A GSDF official at the time reportedly used Winny at home and accidentally released data that was on his computer.

The data included 10 types of files including an "education and training implementation plan," a "1st company full personnel list," and a "moral education form" document.

Included in the documents were addresses and personality types of GSDF members, detailed training schedules, lists of personnel at GSDF posts and vehicle conditions. The documents were reportedly several hundred pages long when printed out.

Winny is a type of file-sharing software enabling users to exchange music, photographs, video images and other information stored on their computers. Usually users designate which information they want to share, but in the GSDF case, the confidential GSDF data was accidentally shared.

In some cases, data people obtain is "released" onto the network apparently to harass others or as a joke.

The GSDF member who released the data was handed a pay cut of about 6.7 percent for one month. It also handed out a note requesting stricter measures for personal computers, but did not report the incident.

In giving a reason for its silence, the GSDF said the leaked information could not be retrieved and people would have only copied it in interest if the incident had been announced.

In separate information affecting a post office in Aichi Prefecture, a wage list for post office workers and a list of articles that had been wrongly delivered could be viewed. This month the Tokai branch of Japan Post sent documents to 2,500 post offices under its jurisdiction warning them to take care when handling information on computers connected to the Internet.

Other information the could be viewed with Winny included a worker list from the Public Security Intelligence Agency including their addresses, a list of 50,000 beauty-treatment clinic customers including phone numbers, and police investigation documents.
http://mdn.mainichi.co.jp/news/2004...0dm001000c.html


Anonymous File Sharing Network Not So Anonymous After All? December '03
Posted Eric Bangeman

Two Japanese computer users suspected of trading movies and games were recently arrested according to Japanese police. What makes this case especially interesting is that they were accessing a supposedly- anonymous file-sharing network via a program called "Winny," which purports to hide the user's identity from the rest of the network. The network based on Winny has around 250,000 regular users and is popular because of the anonymity it supposedly offers. Along with the two men arrested, the home of the developer of Winny was raided by police.

Winny is reportedly based on probably the best-known anonymous file-sharing application Freenet. This network provides anonymous untraceable sharing by dividing up files and distributing them across different computers. The network is also cryptographically secured. However, Freenet's creator, Ian Clarke, has questioned any close connection. "From what I have seen of Winny (which isn't much) it is more likely that they have borrowed a few ideas from Freenet," Clarke writes in an online posting. "But it is unclear whether Winny uses a Freenet-style routing algorithm, or implements any of Freenet's crypto."

Since the advent of legal action against file traders, anonymous and other closed networks have become more popular for trading music, movies, and programs. The arrests in Japan mark the first time someone has been nabbed for using one of these networks. As more legal pressure is brought to bear on the practice of file sharing, dedicated traders will look harder for means of obscuring their identity. However, as the arrests in Japan demonstrate, true anonymity on the Internet is difficult - if not impossible - to find.
http://arstechnica.com/news/posts/1070383658.html