Not even 24 hours had passed since US authorities had shut down one of the largest torrent websites — Kickasstorrents or KAT — and arrested its owner Artem Vaulin from Poland, and KAT was already making a comeback.
IsoHunt, another major torrent website, has restored a mirror of the original KAT website with identical design and a somewhat similar domain name — kickasstorrents.website. The mirror site has everything necessary for a torrent site to be functional and features uploads from at least a year-and-a-half ago. However, it lacks forums, community features and support services that were used to be provided by KAT.
In the past, IsoHunt was also responsible for reviving another torrent website, Pirate Bay, during one of its numerous takedowns. “It’s not perfect but if users need to save and archive something it’s time,” IsoHunt team said in a message on mirrored website. “We don’t know how long it can last, but at least it’s something.”
The quick emergence of a KAT clone within hours of its closure shows how futile the fight against online piracy is. This was also evident in the aftermath of the Pirate Bay shutdown. Pirate Bay has been able to keep operating despite jail sentences handed down in Sweden against its founders, and the seizure of its web domains.
Authorities say they can seize or shut down illegal file-sharing sites but that the operators often reopen with servers in different jurisdictions. Vaulin is alleged to own Kickass Torrents or KAT, which in recent years has eclipsed Pirate Bay and others to become the world’s biggest source of pirated media.
Terming Vaulin’s arrest a violation of human rights, a petition has been linked on KAT’s mirror website asking US authorities to set KickassTorrents founder free and drop all charges against him. Authorities have charged Vaulin with conspiracy to commit criminal copyright infringement, conspiracy to commit money laundering and two counts of criminal copyright infringement.
The US confirmed Thursday it was seeking the extradition of the alleged boss of the world’s biggest online piracy site, Kickass Torrents, on charges of distributing over $1 billion worth of illegally copied films, music and other content.
READ MORE: Owner of world’s biggest piracy site Kickass Torrents Artem Vaulin arrested in US
The US criminal complaint said the website offers “a sophisticated and user-friendly environment in which its users are able to search for and locate content” which is protected by copyright.
KAT — which distributes pirated films, video games, television programmes and music — is estimated to be the 69th most frequently visited the website on the internet, according to a Justice Department statement.
“Vaulin is charged with running today’s most visited illegal file-sharing website, responsible for unlawfully distributing well over $1 billion of copyrighted materials,” said Assistant Attorney General Leslie Caldwell.
“In an effort to evade law enforcement, Vaulin allegedly relied on servers located in countries around the world and moved his domains due to repeated seizures and civil lawsuits.
“His arrest in Poland, however, demonstrates again that cybercriminals can run, but they cannot hide from justice.”
Polish border guard spokesperson Agnieszka Golias told media Thursday that Vaulin was arrested at Warsaw’s Chopin airport on Wednesday “during an attempt to enter Poland”.
US officials are seeking to extradite Vaulin on charges filed in a federal court in Chicago, which ordered the seizure of one bank account and seven domain names associated with the file-sharing website.
The complaint said officials were able to track and identify Vaulin from records provided by Apple on his iCloud account.
According to the complaint, KAT operates in 28 languages and has made available movies that were still in cinemas along with other content, earning revenue from advertising throughout its site.
The website’s value is estimated at more than $54 million (49 million euros), with annual advertising revenue in the range of $12.5 million to $22.3 million, according to the complaint.
KAT has moved its domains several times after being blocked in Britain, Ireland, Italy, Denmark, Belgium and Malaysia, according to the complaint, and has relied on a network of computer servers located around the world, including in Chicago.
Recently, the website allowed users to download illegal copies of recent hit movies such as “Captain America: Civil War,” “Now You See Me 2,” and “Finding Dory.”
Vaulin, who used the screen name “tirm,” was involved in designing the original website and ran the site which has been operating since 2008 through a Ukrainian-based front company called Cryptoneat.
According to the Justice Department, KAT’s website “purports to comply with the removal of copyrighted materials” but evidence showed it did not remove content requested by organisations such as the Motion Picture Association of America, the Recording Industry Association of America and Entertainment Software Association.
The move comes with US officials in a long battle to extradite the head of Megaupload, a major piracy site shuttered by the FBI in 2012.
The head of Megaupload, known by the pseudonym Kim Dotcom, is free on bail in New Zealand pending an effort to extradite him to the US and vowed earlier this month to revive his operations.
His extradition appeal is set to begin in the High Court in Auckland on August 29 and is expected to last four to eight weeks.
