James Delahunty
13 Apr 2007 10:53
When you browse over forums and websites about file sharing, many users who consider themselves more "advanced" often openly tout their membership to X numbers of private BitTorrent trackers whilst blasting public sites like ThePirateBay. Of course, just because a tracker is private does not mean it is immune to the action taken against other BitTorrent sites.
Peter Anaman, a senior internet investigator for legal firm Covington and Burling, claims that his organization successfully "infiltrates" private BitTorrent tracker sites. Of course, he didn't name any that are currently being monitored extensively. "Many groups didn't start off as private. They became private because they felt threatened, so we were able to get in when they were open," he said, which possibly might serve as a hint to a power user about which trackers to avoid.
He indicated that his organization maintains a number of contacts which assist it in gaining access to additional private sites for information gathering. "Once you’re in, you never take action. You just listen," he told The Guardian. Of course, some trackers are really "private" and have always been and we can be sure that BT users aren't dealing with Hollywood movie-style spies, no matter how much these groups spruce up the language they give to the press. Still though, it serves as a story to send to the next annoying kid that claims he is rolling in private tracker memberships on forums that you frequent.
Source:
TorrentFreak