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-PXG- · Mar 4, 2011

Originally posted by BoboBrazil Lock if it's already been re-posted, or for any other reason the staff sees fit.

A federal magistrate is granting Sony the right to acquire the internet IP addresses of anybody who has visited PlayStation 3 hacker George Hotz website from January of 2009 to the present.

Thursdays decision (.pdf) by Magistrate Joseph Spero to allow Sony to subpoena Hotz web provider raises a host of web privacy concerns.

The subpoena to Bluehost, which maintains Hotz geohot.com site, is part of Sonys lawsuit against the 21-year-old New Jersey hacker. Respected for his iPhone hacks and now the PlayStation 3 jailbreak, Hotz is accused of breaching the Digital Millennium Copyright Act and other laws after he published on his website an encryption key and software tools that allow Playstation owners to gain complete control of their consoles from the firmware on up.

Sony also won subpoenas (.pdf) for data from YouTube and Google, as well as Twitter account data linked to Hotz, who goes by the handle GeoHot.

The Bluehost subpoena requires requires the company to turn over documents reproducing all server logs, IP address logs, account information, account access records, and application or registration forms tied to Hotz hosting. The subpoena also demands any other identifying information corresponding to persons or computers who have accessed or downloaded files hosted using your service and associated with the www.geohot.com website, including but not limited to the geohot.com/jailbreak.zip file.

Photo: itBox24/Flickr

Sony told Spero, a San Francisco magistrate, that it needed the information for at least two reasons.

One is to prove defendants distribution of the hack. The other involves a jurisdictional argument over whether Sony must sue Hotz in his home state of New Jersey rather than San Francisco, which Sony would prefer. Sony said the server logs would demonstrate that many of those whom downloaded Hotz hack reside in Northern California thus making San Francisco a proper venue for the case.

The DMCA prohibits the trafficking of so-called circumvention devices designed to crack copy protection schemes. The law does not require Sony to prove that Hotz received payment for the hack, which was designed to allow PlayStation 3 owners the ability to run home-brewed software or alternative operating systems like Linux. It builds on a series of earlier jailbreaks that unlocked less protected levels of the PlayStations authentication process.

Jailbreaking a console is also a prerequisite to running pirated copies of games, which Sony emphasizes in its lawsuit.

I think the these subpoenas, the information they seek, is inappropriate, said Corynne McSherry, a staff attorney with the Electronic Frontier Foundation. In a letter to Magistrate Spero, she termed the subpoenas overly broad. (.pdf)

The judge also signed off on a subpoena to Google seeking the logs for Hotz Blogger.com blog, geohotps.3.blogspot.com.

A subpoena to YouTube, also approved, seeks information connected to the geohot account that displayed a video of the hack being used: Jailbroken PS3 3.55 with Homebrew. The subpoena demands data to identify who watched the video and documents reproducing all records or usernames and IP addresses that have posted or published comments in response to the video.

A fourth subpoena is directed at Twitter, demanding the disclosure of all of Hotz tweets, and documents sufficient to identify all names, addresses, and telephone numbers associated with the Twitter account.

Sony has threatened to sue anybody who has posted the hacking tools or the encryption key. It is seeking unspecified damages from Hotz.

A hearing on whether Hotz will be tried in San Francisco or New Jersey is set for next month in San Francisco federal court.

http://www.wired.com/threatlevel/2011/03/geohot-site-unmasking/

Bolded those parts so people wouldn't freak out. If you have CFW installed, Sony isn't going to hunt you down and kill your family. Sheesh.

Rham · Mar 4, 2011

That's Bullshit.

ZoddGutts · Mar 4, 2011

Great news!

Bumblebeetuna · Mar 4, 2011

Oh Sony lol

wwm0nkey · Mar 4, 2011

Ok Sony...just stop.

heyf00L · Mar 4, 2011

Shouldn't they at least determine if anything illegal happened before being granted private information?

StevieP · Mar 4, 2011

You can almost kinda defend the fact that they're not going to mass-sue everyone. You can't defend that they're getting the information in the first place. They SHOULD NOT be. This is bullshit, through and through.

Stephen Colbert · Mar 4, 2011

Yet another win for corporations. Yeah!

I like Sony. I love that they push technology to extremes and deliver fantastic games. And I'll be there day one for the NGP and PS4.

But this is some serious bullshit. I don't blame Sony for trying this given how much the PSP suffered from piracy, but I do blame the judge for granting it. It seems like an open and shut case, they don't have the right to private IPs of people that didn't actually break any law. He should have just told Sony to F off.

chubigans · Mar 4, 2011

Geohot is going down, down down.

Rich! · Mar 4, 2011

This is beyond a joke. Not being petty or anything, but this has put me off Sony products for a long, long time - and I'm considering trading in my PS3 against 3DS games.

edit - actually, I will get rid of it. Not getting into a debate with anyone, but I'd like to do whatever I want with the product I buy, without potentially being spied upon/threatened by Sony (I know I havent posted the key or anything, but jesus christ, this is ridiculous).

LiquidMetal14 · Mar 4, 2011

Probably should stay away from them suspicious sites and stuff.

They are taking this seriously, it seems.

epmode · Mar 4, 2011

Ah, the American corporatocracy at work. And as usual, a few of you guys cheer as your rights are trampled.

-PXG- · Mar 4, 2011

What I was about to post before the other thread got locked:

In the end of all this, Sony will have sued the ever living shit out of some kid, while people still hack their consoles, run homebrew and pirate their games, ect. What's done is done. Their "scare tactics" aren't going to do a damn thing. They're wasting their time.

Great Sony sues Geohot, or they settle something outside of court. He stops hacking and distributing Sony's reverse engineered code, but then another 10 guys will appear and continue what he did, ANONYMOUSLY. This would be a completely different situation if Geohot wasn't an egotistical little cunt, trying to get another two more inches on his e-dick.

jim-jam bongs · Mar 4, 2011

This is so many shades of wrong.

Deadly · Mar 4, 2011

So are they going to sue themselves? Kevin Butler posted the keys online :lol

Mama Robotnik · Mar 4, 2011

This is terrifying. I actually can't believe a private company is allowed to have this information because someone used their hardware in a way they didn't approve of.

I mean Christ, it was bad enough that they even asked for such invasive data, but the fact that it was actually approved, what the fuck?!

So to anyone who even accidentally clicked on George's YouTube video - Congratulations, Sony now has your IP address to identify you with.

[Nintex] · Mar 4, 2011

"Next up we want your credit numbers, social security numbers and e-mail adresses. After
all we have to validate that behind those IP's were 'real people' so we can start a case in San Francisco. "

LiquidMetal14 · Mar 4, 2011

jim-jam bongs said:
This is so many shades of wrong.

As as wrong as some of the stuff he himself brought upon everyone.

Playing with fire.

Emitan · Mar 4, 2011

Rham said:
That's Bullshit.

/thread
Sony, you're going way too far on this. I'm really happy I have a PS3 with a broken disc drive on the way to me from eBay. The more crazy they get, the more I want a hacked PS3.

Deadly said:
So are they going to sue themselves? Kevin Butler posted the keys online :lol

lol

Dr. Malik · Mar 4, 2011

lol, Sony isn't messing around, they now have my IP but I haven't distributed the codes or have CFW so I'm good, still popcorn.gif

Fixed1979 · Mar 4, 2011

richisawesome said:
This is beyond a joke. Not being petty or anything, but this has put me off Sony products for a long, long time - and I'm considering trading in my PS3 against 3DS games.

Sony is just doing what it thinks is right to protect it's companies interest.

It's the decision of the magistrate and the U.S. government you should not want anything to do with. Perhaps moving up here to Canada is an option...

Edit: You're not American but we can still boycott all of their products for this outragous decision.

freddy · Mar 4, 2011

I wonder if she'll declare that extra money to the tax department.

Wario64 · Mar 4, 2011

Broken URL.

Rich! · Mar 4, 2011

Taking my PS3 into work tomorrow to trade in. £120 will serve me well come next week.

And like hell am I buying the NGP.

Fixed1979 said:
Sony is just doing what it thinks is right to protect it's companies interest.

It's the decision of the magistrate and the U.S. government you should not want anything to do with. Perhaps moving up here to Canada is an option...

Heh. Yeah, moving from the south coast of England to Canada. Nah.

Ivan A Nguyen · Mar 4, 2011

Welcome to the wonderful world of "Electronic Discovery".

chubigans · Mar 4, 2011

-PXG- said:
What I was about to post before the other thread got locked:

In the end of all this, Sony will have sued the ever living shit out of some kid, while people still hack their consoles, run homebrew and pirate their games, ect. What's done is done. Their "scare tactics" aren't going to do a damn thing. They're wasting their time.

Isn't that the same analogy as saying police are wasting their time arresting drug users, since they'll keep on sellin and usin' drugs no matter what they do? Of course, you could argue that what geohot did wasn't wrong, but to argue that they shouldn't sue hackers on the grounds that it wont stop hacking is not a good one.

ViolentP · Mar 4, 2011

This is the beauty of the internet. Anonymity allows people to talk all the shit they want but when there is a slight threat of your identity being known, all that bravery is nowhere to be found. Bravo, internet. Bravo.

Emitan · Mar 4, 2011

richisawesome said:
Taking my PS3 into work tomorrow to trade in. £120 will serve me well come next week.

And like hell am I buying the NGP.

I'm buying an NGP

for homebrew, just like I did for the PSP

spons · Mar 4, 2011

a jurisdictional argument over whether Sony must sue Hotz in his home state of New Jersey rather than San Francisco, which Sony would prefer. Sony said the server logs would demonstrate that many of those whom downloaded Hotz hack reside in Northern California thus making San Francisco a proper venue for the case.

I don't really think the logs are going to show that.

alr1ght · Mar 4, 2011

It's bullshit, but it's not like they're attempting to sue people who visited his site. They're trying to get information on where people accessed his site from, to get the jurisdiction they want for the case to be tried in.

black_vegeta · Mar 4, 2011

chubigans said:
Geohot is going down, down down.

Auuuuttttoooooommmaaattttiiicccc...

fernoca · Mar 4, 2011

Like someone said in the other/locked thread. Sony was supposed to ask for this, judge was supposed to say no; but said yeah. So Sony is like "WTF? what are we supposed to do now?"

But as other people has said in other threads (and online); Sony is not going to hunt you down and put you in jail. If anything aside the stuff they've said about knowing which IPs downloaded what, they'll probably use that data to block said IPs from the PlayStation Network, or identify the last activity log of said console online and stuff like that.

sixteen-bit · Mar 4, 2011

new thread title is way better

Trojita · Mar 4, 2011

I can't believe the Judge approved this.

LiquidMetal14 · Mar 4, 2011

chubigans said:
Isn't that the same analogy as saying police are wasting their time arresting drug users, since they'll keep on sellin and usin' drugs no matter what they do? Of course, you could argue that what geohot did wasn't wrong, but to argue that they shouldn't sue hackers on the grounds that it wont stop hacking is not a good one.

Basically. Let's see what his response is

StevieP · Mar 4, 2011

Before someone claims dynamic IPs, your ISP keeps records of assigned IPs and the name and home address they belong to at those times.

Zoe · Mar 4, 2011

freddy said:
I wonder if she'll declare that extra money to the tax department.

who

LiK · Mar 4, 2011

Alright, this is getting out of hand.

LiquidMetal14 · Mar 4, 2011

Trojita said:
I can't believe the Judge approved this.

Dennis · Mar 4, 2011

Don't make me hate you Sony, I was getting that PSP2.

Afrikan · Mar 4, 2011

-PXG- said:
What I was about to post before the other thread got locked:

In the end of all this, Sony will have sued the ever living shit out of some kid, while people still hack their consoles, run homebrew and pirate their games, ect. What's done is done. Their "scare tactics" aren't going to do a damn thing. They're wasting their time.

Great you sue Geohot, or you settle something outside of court. He stops hacking and distributing Sony's reverse engineered code, but then another 10 guys will appear and continue what he did, ANONYMOUSLY. This would be a completely different situation if Geohot wasn't an egotistical little cunt, trying to get another two more inches on his e-dick.

I think it is more for their investors and 3rd Party Publishing companies....they have to do something. Also this aggressive approach might be to try to scare away hackers with bad intentions here in the States....as well as the good ones too, unfortunately.

Erebus · Mar 4, 2011

This is getting scary. What's even worse is that a lot of GAF will stand behind Sony on this again.

-PXG- · Mar 4, 2011

chubigans said:
Isn't that the same analogy as saying police are wasting their time arresting drug users, since they'll keep on sellin and usin' drugs no matter what they do? Of course, you could argue that what geohot did wasn't wrong, but to argue that they shouldn't sue hackers on the grounds that it wont stop hacking is not a good one.

Oh no, it begins

No. Sony can do whatever the hell they want. I don't care if it's a waste of their time, money or resources. But they're naive if they think this escapade with George Hotz is going to put a dent in the modding/ hacking community or stop Johnny from downloading 20 PS3 game torrents.

Rich! · Mar 4, 2011

Billychu said:
I'm buying an NGP

for homebrew, just like I did for the PSP

Heh. I brought the PSP, and guess how many games I brought for it? Zero. Did I pirate any games? No.

I ripped all my PS1 discs and shoved them on a memory stick to play on it. Worth the money, for sure. But that was before all this bullshit from Sony. Never, ever buying a product of theirs again.

RobertM · Mar 4, 2011

I wana see those guys that were rooting for Sony in other PS3 law suit threads come and cheer them on their illegal activities.

Boney · Mar 4, 2011

Oh god this is so wrong

Game2Death · Mar 4, 2011

Glad I haven't even watched a video on it. But that is so dumb. Over board.

Mama Robotnik · Mar 4, 2011

I'm pretty sure that I followed a link somewhere and clicked onto one of GeoHot's videos. Months later, Sony have my IP details to identify me with without my consent.

Significantly displeased at this outcome, and will watch with morbid horror anyone who tries to defend it.

LiquidMetal14 · Mar 4, 2011

DarkUSS said:
This is getting scary. What's even worse is that a lot of GAF will stand behind Sony on this again.

Before you jump to that, it's regarding just this issue. Not your whole entire private life. Don't mess with fire.

jim-jam bongs · Mar 4, 2011

LiquidMetal14 said:
As as wrong as some of the stuff he himself brought upon everyone.

Playing with fire.

The American judicial system is based around the idea that a person is innocent until proven guilty. Giving a corporation access to private information without evidence that a crime has been committed is a massive violation of that principle. This has fuck all to do with Geohot or the case in question.

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