IT Breathes!

Note: It is illegal in some areas to forge emails. I am not telling you to go out and do this, it is merely a thought exercise. Use this information at your own risk. You have been warned.

Over the years there have been technological attempts to kick people off the internet. DoS, DDoS, modem hacks, netsplits etc etc. But these are temporary, eventually your DoS will get blackholed, your userid will get klined your botnets compromised. And worst of all your enemy won’t have to do anything about it, the ISP will be the one suffering trying to fix the problem, they just sit back and wait for the damage to subside.  Until I devised this devious ploy.

In an attempt combat piracy and copyright infringement groups such as the RIAA, MPAA and ESA have begun monitoring public torrents. They record the IPs of those who are downloading/uploading the torrent, they then (automatically I assume) email the ISP with a standard form letter similar to this:

Entertainment Software Association
575 7th Street, NW, Suite 300
Washington, DC 20004 USA

Attention: Intellectual Property Enforcement
Telephone: 202-223-2400
E-mail: mailto:esa@copyright-compliance.com?subject=RE
8 Feb 2008 00:58:24 GMT

ISP: Rogers Cable Communications Inc.
ESA Reference Number: xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

Dear Rogers Cable Communications Inc.:

The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) is a trade association that represents the intellectual property interests of numerous companies that publish interactive games for video game consoles, personal computers, handheld devices and the Internet in the United States of America, in Canada, and in other countries (collectively referred to as ESA members). ESA is authorized to act on behalf of ESA members whose copyright and other intellectual property rights it believes to be infringed as described herein.

ESA is providing this letter of notification to make Rogers Cable Communications Inc. aware of material on its network or system that infringes the exclusive copyright rights of and is unlawful towards one or more ESA members.

ESA members are entitled to the full protection of Canadian intellectual property laws, including the Copyright Act, R.S.C. 1985, c. C-42, as amended, in such entertainment software products.

Based on the information at its disposal on 7 Feb 2008 23:47:26 GMT, ESA has a good faith belief that xxxxxxxx infringes the rights of one or more ESA members by offering for sale or download unauthorized copies of game products protected by copyright, or offering for sale or download material that is the subject of infringing activities. The copyrighted works that have been infringed include but are not limited to:

Title: Hellgate: London
Infringement Source: BitTorrent
Infringement Timestamp: 7 Feb 2008 23:47:26 GMT
Infringement Last Documented: 7 Feb 2008 23:47:26 GMT
Infringer Username:
Infringing Filename: Hellgate London
Infringing Filesize: 7382154331
Infringer IP Address: xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Infringer DNS Name: xxxxxxxxxxxx
Infringing URL: XXXXXXXXXXXX

The unauthorized copies of such game product(s) or the material that is the subject of infringing activities appears on or is made available through xxxxxxxxx. Those items are listed and/or identified thereon by their titles or variations thereof, game-related listings/references/descriptions, or depictions of game-related artwork. Such copies, titles, game-related listings/references/descriptions, depictions, and material that is the subject of infringing activities, are hereinafter referred to as “Infringing Material.”

Accordingly, ESA hereby requests Rogers Cable Communications Inc. to immediately do the following:

1. Notify the account holder of the Infringing Material.
2. Remove, or disable access to, the Infringing Material detailed above.
3. Take appropriate action against the account holder under your Abuse Policy/Terms
of Service Agreement, including termination of a repeat offender.

Please inform us whether you will remove or disable access to the Infringing Material as requested. Rogers Cable Communications Inc. or the account holder may contact ESA at the above-listed contact details, with email preferred. Please include the above-noted Reference Number in the subject line of all email correspondence.

Thank you for your cooperation and prompt response in this matter.

Sincerely,

Intellectual Property Enforcement
Entertainment Software Association

What will usually occur is the ISP will send you a standard email or letter listing out the AUP which will invariably have a section about copyright infringement. The problem with this is that the ISP usually has a 3 strikes you’re out rule. So you get three infringement letters and you get cut off.

Those sneakier than I will have already realized that by figuring out your enemies IP address all you’ll need to do is send a handful of email to get someone cut off from the internet. There’s very little identification that goes on when it comes to the ISPs checking if you actually caused the infringement so next time you need get rid of someone search google for ‘copyright infringement letter’ and copy and paste the letter, making sure to include their IP address as the one you recorded. Do this a couple of times and you’re enemy will have to spend atleast a week getting a new internet connection setup. In some places he won’t even be able to get high-speed again because Comcast or COX or whomever might be the only players in town.

Update: You might want to actually spoof your email address before you send this. I won’t write an article about it because it’s so trivial but let me google that for you.