Online Security, a global provider of computer forensics and information technology risk mitigation since 1997   Original Source:    http://money.cnn.com/2004/04/22/technology/tech_piracy.reut/index.htm?cnn=yes Computers seized in anti-piracy sweep U.S. stages raids in 27 states, 10 countries to break up illegal online music and movie networks. April 22, 2004: 3:10 PM EDT WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Investigators seized 200 computers across the globe to break up online piracy networks that distribute copyrighted music, movies and software, the Justice Department said Thursday. The sweep, carried out in 27 U.S. states and 10 foreign countries, targeted covert "warez" groups that distribute computer games and other works before they are officially released, the Justice Department said. "We have moved aggressively to strike at the very core of the international online piracy world," Attorney General John Ashcroft said. The U.S. Customs Department has estimated that warez groups, consisting of tech-savvy hackers and industry insiders, are responsible for 95 percent of all pirated material available online. Nearly 100 participants had been identified, Justice Department officials said, but none had yet been charged. Those charged with copyright violations in the United States could face up to five years in prison for each count if convicted. Searches were also conducted in Britain, Germany, France, Israel, Singapore, Belgium, the Netherlands, Denmark, Hungary and Sweden, Justice Department officials said. Warez groups compete with one another to post pirated works on secret computer servers. Fun rather than profit is usually the motive, according to law-enforcement officials. From there, the works spread quickly across the Internet and become available to millions through file-sharing networks like Kazaa and Morpheus, or are duplicated illegally in pressing plants. Server computers seized in the raids contained hundreds of thousands of illegally copied works worth at least $50 million, Ashcroft said. One computer contained 65,000 different works, he said. Five of the targeted rings specialized in pirating computer games, while one focused on music, officials said. Federal agents seized computers in 80 sites across the United States, Ashcroft said. Ashcroft declined to say where the raids had taken place, but noted warez groups often used schools as distribution hubs. "I don't think the schools should be a safe haven for any type of criminal activity," he said. U.S. officials broke up a warez ring known as DrinkOrDie in 2001 and won convictions for two of the group's leaders.