Virgin goes ahead with DPI spy tech ‘test’
p2pnet news view Freedom | P2P:- Virgin Media says it’s going ahead with a plans to test drive spy technology that uses deep packet inspection (DPI) tell if someone is downloading copyrighted files.
Made by Detica and called Cview, it’s “the first commercially available solution to provide a metric highlighting the volume and nature of Peer to Peer (P2P) file sharing activity on an ISP network”, says the company, promising it doesn’t and can’t, “identify individual Internet users.
“Virgin and Detica insist that DPI is — for now — being used only to measure the level of illegal filesharing, not to snoop on customers,” says Times Online, going on:
“Indeed, they say the key piece of information — the IP address — is ignored in the process. This, of course, doesn’t mean the technology could not target individuals.”
Asked if Cview could be used to ID filesharers,”It could be, but the technology hasn’t been designed for that purpose,” the story has a Virgin Media spokesman stating, going on:
“The IP information is discarded. It allows us to understand the exact nature of unlawful traffic on our network.”
But anti-Phorm activist Alex Hanff believes it’s the “beginning of the end for private communications in the UK” .
Virgin’s decision comes in the midst of entertainment cartel plans to have the UK government officially deploy the ‘creative’ industry’s Three Strikes net censorship plan.
Last year Virgin sent about 800 threatening letters to customers as part of a campaign it was running with Vivendi Universal, EMI, Warner Music and Sony Music’s BPI (British Phonographic Industry) to ‘educate’ users.
It told the BBC “thousands more letters” would be sent, and the BPI said it was a “stricter stance on illegal downloaders” which “might result in some ISPs being taken to court”.
Now, “A spokesman for Lord Mandelson’s Department for Business, Innovation and Skills denied the government had discussed using DPI to identify illegal filesharers, but left the door open for it to be used in future,” says Times Online, adding:
“If warning letters backed by legal action do not prove as effective as we expect, then an additional obligation to introduce appropriate technical measures is worth considering,” he said.
..… and identi.ca
p2pnet music downloads – and stuff
test drive spy technology – Virgin Media CView ’spy’ app: update, December 18, 2009
Times Online – Virgin Media to trial piracy-detection software, January 17, 2010
beginning of the end – Campaign protests Virgin Media spyware, December 3, 2009
‘educate’ users – Virgin goes after UK P2P file sharers, July 3, 2009
Three Strikes net censorship plan – UK 3 strikes debate: ‘value of infringements’, January 6, 2010
net censorship plan – Hollywood touts ACTA, November 22, 2009
BBC – Warning letters to ‘file-sharers’, July 3, 2008
Use free p2pnet newsfeeds for your site. Subscribe to p2pnet.net | | rss feed: http://p2pnet.net/feed
Net access blocked by government restrictions? Use Psiphon from the Citizen Lab at the University of Toronto. Go here for details.
January 19th, 2010 at 7:18 pm
All the more reason to boycott these douchebags.
January 20th, 2010 at 5:50 am
It seems to me that this is a pointless excersise… Most (if not all) bittorrent clients support encryption these days, as do newsgroups etc. Just ensure that you use encryption if it is available and DPI technology will be resigned to an early grave!
January 20th, 2010 at 9:54 am
They probably count any bittorrent activity that is encrypted as illegal, because there sure as hell isn’t any way to identify the content behind RC4 cryptography.
I’m surprised there are no wiretapping laws that this runs afoul of. Oh wait, I forgot, the laws don’t apply to corporations, only the commoners. It’s the hallmark of an out of control gov’t. Too bad the people are way too dumbed down to do anything about it.
January 20th, 2010 at 4:31 pm
Virgin is a member of the cartel of parasites. If you are with Virgin DITCH THEM!
They are spying on you!
January 20th, 2010 at 4:32 pm
“Too bad the people are way too dumbed down to do anything about it.”
Oh?
Watch us!