Household in Australia face the prospect of having their ISP disconnect or suspend their Internet service if they pirate films or music online. According to technology law, the film industry claims that one in every three Australians has committed movie theft via BitTorrent downloads, causing over a billion in losses.

The industry is attempting to hold ISPs legally accountable for the actions of consumers who use these services to download illegal content. While a Federal Court has dismissed a recent case against the ISP iiNet, the judgment held open the possibility that ISPs could be required in the future to act against users who can be verified as infringing copyrights. Film studios are contracting with firms who monitor IP addresses and BitTorrent activity online, and the ISPs could be required to send warning notices or even terminate those IP addresses suspected of infringement based on their monitored activity.

BSA specifically insists on changing the technology damage laws so that the companies can claim entitlement to a greater amount in damages. There argument is that at the current rate of damages is equivalent to the cost of the software (technology) where as it should be more since the ramifications of the technological usage are invaluable.

© Waldo Jaquith

In its Global Piracy Software Study Report -2010, the BSA shares a lot of disturbing facts and figures about the unlawful technology practices across the globe. The chief among such practices being the use of unlicensed software in computers

The global fight against organized Internet crime has a new Cybercop on the beat. Steve Santorelli is a former Scotland Yard investigator who left that organization to join Microsoft's Internet Crimes Investigation Team and in so doing he entered the computer law enforcement field. His first big case came when he heard colleagues discussing the creator of the infamous Zotob computer virus. He overheard them mention the nickname "Coder", which was spelled uniquely with a zero in place of the "o". And he knew exactly who it was, as his department had been tracking the guy for some time.

Zotob was making headlines as it infected the computer services of major news organizations and government institutions. In an ironic twist, when it was being reported on CNN the screen behind an anchor went blank on live TV due to the virus. Santorelli and his team raced to trace the location of the suspects, and after two weeks of 20 hour days, the finally sent the FBI a detailed report which resulted in the arrest of two young men from Morocco and Turkey.