Peer-to-peer special ops, prepare to meet the anti-hackers

The record labels have secretly been in cloak and dagger mode behind the scenes. Busier than two cats, we may think the focus is on litigation alone. No, the battle lines have many fronts matey, as the labels fight fire with fire to protect their assets. Apparently, as this report indicates, peer-to-peer “special ops” have already begun. The labels, through a clandestine recruitment drive, have contracted elite “gray-hat” hackers and small computer security companies to sabotage the networks. According to one self-described anti-pirate, “It’s eye-for-an-eye time.” (everybody together now. ARRRRRRR!) Here are some of the anti-matter program names and the strategies that these wizards of code have conjured. Interesting, yet annoying at the same time.

Antinode: Creates fake “supernodes,” signposts used by some file-sharing technologies (Kazaa, for example) to guide users’ computers to files. The pseudo-supernodes distribute misleading file information.

Fester: Puts the word out on file-sharing networks that RIAA servers have music files for download. The servers redirect users to black hole sites, tying them up indefinitely. Newer P2P clients drop useless connections more quickly, so this approach may already be obsolete.

Freeze: Uses an existing bug in P2P clients to remotely “hang” computers hunting for MP3s. The result could be more than mere frustration – unsaved data can be lost during a long hang. It’s in development now.

Shame: If implemented, would distribute a benign P2P virus in an illegal media file that adds the words “I steal music on the Internet” to a user’s email signature. Expect to see that appear as a slogan on T-shirts a few minutes later.

Silence: Scans computers on P2P networks for illegal material, hacks into the pirate machine, and deletes the data. One problem: Early versions delete legal MP3s, too.

Suck: Scours the Net for large libraries of MP3s, and then starts asking for files. And asking. And asking. Eventually, the requests clog library owners’ connections like hair in a pipe – and if the RIAA is using that bandwidth, then nobody else is. As a bonus, this approach generates huge volumes of data traffic, driving up pirates’ usage and incurring the wrath of ISPs.

Tattle: Recruits other industries. If you have lots of liberated music, chances are you also have a few pieces of software that fell off the back of a truck. Recording industry bots already track online piracy – insiders have suggested the RIAA share that information with the software and movie industries.

Ouch! There’s a battle going on and it’s getting serious. We will keep an eye out for the inevitable response salvo from the networks. As they try to continue to provide the service that the public has become accustomed to for the last few years. It’s a historic war against power and corruption, from the viewpoint of both sides! Who will win? Who’s right and who is wrong?