MediaDefender

MediaDefender, Inc. was a Los Angeles-based company that provided anti-copyright-infringement services for entertainment companies and other rights holders. Its work focused on unauthorized distribution through peer-to-peer networks, where it attempted to make infringing material harder to find or download, identify users and uploaders, and support enforcement and monitoring programs. The company became known for using aggressive technical countermeasures rather than relying only on conventional legal notices. These methods included distributing decoy or corrupted files across peer-to-peer networks, monitoring file-sharing activity, gathering information about people sharing copyrighted material, and operating infrastructure intended to interfere with unauthorized transfers. The company reportedly maintained a large server and bandwidth footprint in California; in March 2007, it was described as having about 60 employees, approximately 2,000 servers, and contracts covering roughly 9 Gbit/s of bandwidth. MediaDefender's clients were reported to include major entertainment organizations such as Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Virgin Records, HBO, Paramount Pictures, and BMG. Its business model reflected the growing importance of online copyright enforcement during the expansion of BitTorrent, eDonkey, and other peer-to-peer systems. Rather than selling entertainment directly to consumers, the company sold monitoring, disruption, intelligence, and enforcement-related services to rights holders. On August 1, 2005, digital media company ARTISTdirect announced that it had acquired MediaDefender for $42.5 million in cash. The acquisition placed the anti-piracy business within a broader digital media corporate structure. MediaDefender later attracted controversy over Miivi.com, a video-sharing site launched in February 2007. File-sharing observers alleged that the site was designed to identify or entrap people uploading copyrighted material. MediaDefender initially described it as an internal video project, while later-released internal communications appeared to contradict or complicate that explanation. The site was shut down on July 4, 2007, after its connection to MediaDefender became public. The company suffered a major security breach in September 2007. A group calling itself the MediaDefender-Defenders released thousands of internal emails, a telephone recording, proprietary tools, and source code. The material exposed operational practices, internal discussions about Miivi, information about anti-infringement systems, and credentials associated with company infrastructure. It also generated allegations that the company or its contractors had used denial-of-service activity and other aggressive measures against websites hosting leaked material. ARTISTdirect later disclosed that the breach cost it at least $825,000. In May 2008, MediaDefender was accused of launching a distributed-denial-of-service attack against Revision3, an Internet television company that used BitTorrent to distribute legally authorized programming. Revision3 chief executive Jim Louderback alleged that MediaDefender had interfered with the company's tracker and then triggered an attack after Revision3 changed its configuration. MediaDefender's chief executive Randy Saaf said the company's systems had targeted a tracker without recognizing it as Revision3's and characterized the disruption as a consequence of configuration changes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was reported to be investigating the incident. In August 2009, ARTISTdirect reorganized MediaDefender together with MediaSentry under the name Peer Media Technologies. MediaDefender therefore ceased to operate as an independent brand, although its anti-piracy activities and technical capabilities continued within the reorganized business.

MediaDefender emerged during the expansion of digital file sharing, when entertainment companies were seeking technical ways to limit unauthorized distribution beyond traditional copyright litigation and takedown notices. The company built a business around monitoring peer-to-peer networks, locating files associated with copyrighted works, recording information about suspected infringers, and making unauthorized files more difficult to obtain. Its methods included the placement of decoy files and corrupted downloads on file-sharing networks. These files could consume users' time, bandwidth, and storage while reducing the reliability of unauthorized sources. The company also developed or operated systems intended to imitate peer-to-peer participants and to collect intelligence about sharing activity. This positioned MediaDefender as a specialist supplier to film, television, and music companies rather than as a consumer-facing media brand. By March 2007, public descriptions characterized the company as having about 60 employees and operating approximately 2,000 servers in California with contracts representing around 9 Gbit/s of bandwidth. Reported clients included Universal Pictures, 20th Century Fox, Virgin Records, HBO, Paramount Pictures, and BMG. The scale of its infrastructure reflected the volume of traffic and the distributed nature of the networks it was attempting to monitor or disrupt. ARTISTdirect acquired MediaDefender in 2005 for $42.5 million in cash. The transaction gave ARTISTdirect an established anti-piracy operation at a time when digital distribution and online copyright enforcement were becoming central concerns for entertainment companies. MediaDefender continued its technical and investigative work under ARTISTdirect ownership. The company became especially controversial because of Miivi.com, launched in February 2007. Although publicly presented as a video-sharing site or an internal video-related project, file-sharing observers suspected that it was designed as a honeypot to identify users who uploaded copyrighted material. The site's domain registration connected it to MediaDefender, and it was closed on July 4, 2007, after the allegations spread. MediaDefender chief executive Randy Saaf denied that Miivi was a deceptive product and attributed the controversy in part to attention from file-sharing groups. Later-published internal emails appeared to provide evidence that the site's public explanation did not fully describe its intended role. In September 2007, a group of hackers identifying themselves as the MediaDefender-Defenders compromised the company. The attackers released 6,621 internal emails, a recorded telephone conversation, proprietary anti-infringement programs, and source code for TrapperKeeper, described as part of the company's decoy systems. The disclosures provided outsiders with information about MediaDefender's tactics, internal projects, relationships, and infrastructure. They also exposed login credentials and other sensitive information. Some messages appeared to show attempts to manage the company's Wikipedia entry and to suppress discussion of Miivi. The breach became a major public-relations and operational crisis, and ARTISTdirect later reported costs of at least $825,000. The disclosures were followed by further allegations concerning attempts to remove leaked material from the Internet. Reports indicated that legal demands and denial-of-service activity were used against sites hosting copies of the emails. The available accounts describe these actions as allegations or evidence discussed in reporting rather than as a fully adjudicated finding against every person or entity involved. In May 2008, MediaDefender faced another prominent controversy after Revision3, a legal Internet television network that used BitTorrent, suffered a denial-of-service attack traced to MediaDefender-associated IP addresses. Revision3 executive Jim Louderback said MediaDefender had first inserted decoy files into the company's tracker and then attacked the service after Revision3 tightened its configuration. Saaf responded that MediaDefender's systems had targeted a tracker without knowing it belonged to Revision3 and that the attack resulted from Revision3's subsequent configuration changes. The Federal Bureau of Investigation was reported to be investigating the episode. In August 2009, ARTISTdirect reorganized MediaDefender and MediaSentry into Peer Media Technologies. This restructuring marked the end of MediaDefender as the principal standalone brand. Its history remains associated with the early commercial anti-piracy industry, the use of network-level disruption and deception in copyright enforcement, and the legal and ethical disputes that followed when those techniques affected companies and users outside the intended target group.

• 2009

  Reorganization as Peer Media Technologies

  [1]MediaDefenderen.wikipedia.org

  ARTISTdirect combined MediaDefender and MediaSentry under the Peer Media Technologies name.

• 2008

  Revision3 denial-of-service controversy

  [1]MediaDefenderen.wikipedia.org

  Revision3 accused MediaDefender of disrupting its legal BitTorrent service; MediaDefender disputed the characterization and the FBI was reported to be investigating.

• 2007

  Miivi.com launches

  [1]MediaDefenderen.wikipedia.org

  MediaDefender introduced a video-sharing site that later became the subject of allegations that it was designed to identify copyright infringers.

• 2007

  Miivi.com closes

  [1]MediaDefenderen.wikipedia.org

  The site was shut down on July 4 after public reporting linked it to MediaDefender and questioned its purpose.

• 2007

  Major security breach and email leak

  [1]MediaDefenderen.wikipedia.org

  A hacker group released thousands of internal communications and proprietary materials, exposing MediaDefender's anti-piracy operations and internal controversies.

• 2005

  ARTISTdirect acquires MediaDefender

  [1]MediaDefenderen.wikipedia.org

  ARTISTdirect announced a cash acquisition valued at $42.5 million, making MediaDefender part of its digital media business.

An aggressive, technology-led service provider for entertainment companies seeking to monitor, disrupt, and investigate unauthorized peer-to-peer distribution.

• Copyright enforcement services

  Peer-to-peer monitoring and enforcement services

  MediaDefender monitored peer-to-peer networks for files associated with clients' copyrighted works. Its services included locating unauthorized copies, recording information about distribution activity, supporting investigations, and attempting to reduce the availability or reliability of infringing sources.

• Anti-piracy software

  Decoy-file and network-disruption systems

  The company used systems that placed fake, corrupted, or otherwise non-useful files into peer-to-peer networks. These techniques were intended to consume bandwidth and user resources, interfere with unauthorized downloads, and make selected material more difficult to obtain.

• Video-sharing website · 2007

  Miivi.com

  Miivi.com was a video-sharing site launched by MediaDefender in February 2007. Its public purpose became disputed after observers connected the domain to the company and alleged that it was intended to identify or entrap people uploading copyrighted content. The service was closed in July 2007.

• Anti-piracy software

  TrapperKeeper

  TrapperKeeper was identified in leaked materials as software associated with MediaDefender's decoy systems. Source code was released publicly during the September 2007 security breach.

• 2008

  Revision3 denial-of-service dispute

  Revision3 accused MediaDefender of attacking its legally operated BitTorrent service after an alleged attempt to inject decoy files. MediaDefender said the incident resulted from tracker targeting and subsequent configuration changes.

  Source

• 2007

  Miivi.com honeypot allegations

  File-sharing observers alleged that Miivi.com was intended to lure users into uploading copyrighted material so that they could be identified. MediaDefender denied that it was a deceptive product, while later leaked emails appeared to contradict elements of the company's public explanation.

  Source

• 2007

  MediaDefender-Defenders security breach

  A hacker group released thousands of emails, a phone recording, source code, anti-infringement tools, and sensitive credentials. The disclosures exposed internal strategies, communications about Miivi, and alleged efforts to control public reporting.

  Source

Read more

• 2009

  Consolidate anti-piracy operationsStrategy

  Background

  ARTISTdirect reorganized its anti-piracy businesses after MediaDefender faced public controversy and operational disruption.

  Action taken

  ARTISTdirect combined MediaDefender and MediaSentry under Peer Media Technologies.

  Aftermath

  MediaDefender no longer operated as the principal standalone brand.

  Source

• 2007

  Launch Miivi.comProduct launch

  Background

  MediaDefender developed a video-related project during a period when video-sharing services were becoming important distribution channels.

  Action taken

  The company launched Miivi.com as a video-sharing website.

  Aftermath

  The site was closed after its connection to MediaDefender became public and observers alleged that it was an anti-piracy honeypot.

  Source

• 2005

  Sell the company to ARTISTdirectM&A

  Background

  ARTISTdirect sought to expand its digital media activities and acquired MediaDefender as online copyright enforcement became increasingly important to entertainment companies.

  Action taken

  ARTISTdirect purchased MediaDefender for $42.5 million in cash.

  Aftermath

  MediaDefender operated under ARTISTdirect ownership until its later reorganization into Peer Media Technologies.

  Acquisition price. $42.5 million cash acquisition (August 1, 2005)

  Source

1. 1MediaDefenderen.wikipedia.org