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4chan’s Operation Payback Is A Bitch For ACS:Law

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4chan’s Operation Payback Is A Bitch For ACS:Law, BT And You

‘OPERATION Payback Is a Bitch’ is 4chan’s /b/ board targeting of ACS:Law. ACS: Law go after so-called web pirates downloading music, videos and games.

4chan members, who seem to know a lot about downloading stuff, launched a DDoS attack on ACS: Law’s website. And it went down.

You see, if you’re thought to have downloaded a film illegally, ACS: Law will send you a letter demanding payment or else.

One woman called Claire got a letter from ACS: Law demanding £495 for allegedly downloading Chubby Chasers.

On some websites you can buy such films for as little as $11 – which pound-for-pound is very reasonable, we’re told.

The fine is heavy. And if you’ve been accused of downloading illegal porn would you want to go to court?

So the 4chan users set about bringing down ACS:Law by gaining access to their servers and downloading lots of files – including the names, credit card details and addresses of over 5,000 Sky Broadband customers. Sky Broadband and all ISPs are bound by law to make such data available. In this case, Sky’s customers were accused of illegally downloading porn films.

ACS:Law “appears to compile lists of alleged infringers tracked by IP addresses, then appeals for a court order to the relevant internet service provider to hand over more information about the customer before taking the accused to court.”

Sky released a statement, having noticed that ACS:Law’s systems were not all that secure:

“Following recent events, we have suspended all co-operation with ACS:Law with immediate effect. This suspension will remain in place until ACS:Law demonstrates adequate measures to protect the security of personal information.”

ACS:Law’s boss is Andrew Crossley. The Register got him on the phone:

“It was only down for a few hours. I have far more concern over the fact of my train turning up 10 minutes late or having to queue for a coffee than them wasting my time with this sort of rubbish.”

4chan users were listening. This was an incentive to crank up the attack.

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Posted: 29th, September 2010 | In: Key Posts, Technology | Comments (12)