54 lines
2.4 KiB
Plaintext
54 lines
2.4 KiB
Plaintext
Date: Sun, 14 Jun 92 09:18:27 CST
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From: MackL <Mclaugh@psicom2.edu>
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Subject: File 7--PC BBS Raided by FBI (reprint)
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"PC Bulletin Board Hit by FBI Raid"
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By Josh Hyatt (Boston Globe)
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From: (Chicago Tribune, June 14. Sect 7, p 3)
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BOSTON--In one of the first reported crackdowns of its kind, six FBI
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agents raided a computer bulletin board based in a Millbury, Mass.,
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home last week. Authorities said the bulletin board's operator had
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been illegally distributing copyrighted software.
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Executing a criminal search warrant, the agents seized several
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computers, six modems and a program called PC Board, which was used to
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run the bulletin board. Authorities also seized documents that listed
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users of the service.
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No arrests were made, according to the Software Publisher's
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Association, a trade group that brought the case to the FBI's
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attention. The association estimates that, as of March, the bulletin
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board had distributed $675,000 worth of copyrighted software; software
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pirates, it says, annually steal as much as $12 billion this way.
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The FBI will not comment on the case except to confirm that a raid had
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taken place and that the investigation is continuing. The alleged
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operator of the bulletin board, Richard Kenadek, could not be reached
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for comment.
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Around the same time as the raid, the software association filed a
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civil lawsuit against Kenadek, charging him with violating copyright
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laws. Ilene Rosenthal, the group's director of litigation, said that
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"the man had incriminated himself" through various computerized
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messages.
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"There's plenty of evidence to show that he was very aware of
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everything on his bulletin board," she said.
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Bulletin boards let personal computer users access a host computer via
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modems. Typically, participants exchange information regarding
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everything from computer programs to tropical fish. They may also,
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for example, obtain upgrades of computer programs.
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The association said its own four-month investigation revealed that
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this bulletin board, called Davy Jones Locker, contained copies of
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more than 200 copyrighted programs.
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Rosenthal said users also were encouraged to contribute copyrighted
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software programs for others to download or copy.
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According to Rosenthal, subscribers paid a fee, $49 for three months
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or $99 for one year. She said Davy Jones Locker had nearly 400 paying
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subscribers in 36 states and 11 foreign countries.
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