Targeting the Piracy Groups, the most visible threat on the Internet

We spend a lot of time with ISVs helping to determine the right anti-piracy strategy and where they should spend their time and resources to combat their piracy problem. In terms of technology, we believe that targeting the business users of pirated software is the most direct approach because this is where the true revenue loss is.

However, we are often asked about going after the piracy groups directly:  trying to identify the individuals in the group that are producing the cracked software and prosecuting them. This is typically the reaction of the product management teams when they see the data we collect on the extent of piracy group activity on their specific software titles. 

We can go after the process to produce cracked software with software protection technology, but getting at the members of these organizations is no small feat and (in our opinion) is not a strategy that should be owned by ISVs.

A recent Department of Justice announcement illustrates what it takes to bring one of these groups down. In this case, it was the music piracy group Apocalypse Production Crew (APC). To give you a sense of how hard it is to go after these groups, this DOJ announcement was related to Operation FastLink, an operation that began in April 2004 under Attorney General John Ashcroft and “has resulted in more than 200 search warrants executed in 15 countries.”

I can only imagine the cost and logistics of bringing down these groups. This is why it is best executed by the DOJ with help from ISVs.

- Vic