totse.com | Sony Infiltrates Scene

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After some research, we have come to the conclusion that Sony is behind the recent release of the internet television show "Welcome to the Scene." (www.welcometothescene.com)

"NYU Student Brian Sandro has a secret: he and his friends pirate hundreds of millions of dollars of illicit Hollywood movies in their spare time. They are revered, reviled, hunted, and admired. No one knows who they are -- at least, not as far as they know."

The show features a fictional movie release group racing to release a new movie. The main character is struggling with an internal conflict: whether or not to sell the movies he obtains.

We start at the beginning: with the Jun Group, the company ostensibly responsible for "Welcome to the Scene." A quick search of the web reveals the following:

"LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - "If you can't beat 'em, join 'em. Even as record and movie companies remain locked in legal battles against file-sharing services, some are quietly experimenting with ways to use the piracy networks to their advantage. One company, called BigChampagne, is tracking music downloads for radio giant Clear Channel. Another, Jun Group, is deliberately releasing music to Web file sharers in order to generate buzz "

"Jun's promotion method is more direct. It distributes material directly to the top levels of the file-sharing universe --the more technical users who trade files on Internet Relay Chat and Usenet. "Known as the Internet arbiters of cool, they get the content first and distribute it through the rest of the community, creating a buzz. That is why it is such a powerful vehicle for marketing," Reichgut said" ~ abridged"

From this one can see that the Jun Group is involved in internet marketing operations using IRC and peer-to-peer to spread marketing materials such as songs.

By checking out the people section of the Jun Group website, we find some interesting names that show up in the production. The second is Corey Weiner.

"Corey Weiner Principal A student at SUNY Binghamton, Corey is Jun Group's newest and (by far) youngest principal. Corey's knowledge of file sharing, programming, and Internet culture has had a tremendous impact on the direction of the company, and his insights into the 18 to 34-year-old male demographic are an invaluable asset to our clients.

Corey is an A+ Certified Professional in both Core Hardware and Operating Systems. He is currently majoring in computer engineering. "

Note that Weiner's age is not given and that it says "he is currently majoring in computer engineering." This indicates that Weiner is a college student and likely between the ages of 18 and 22. A prime age to be involved in the scene, but this is only circumstantial...

The first and most notable name to appear is Bruce Forest. Forest is of course listed under the people section of jungroup.com, as you would expect.

"An avid Internet user since the early eighties, Bruce is now a leading intellectual property specialist and one of the most quoted piracy and IP Protection experts in the US. He has been asked to serve as an expert witness for both the RIAA and MPAA, and is an ongoing consultant for several business units of a major multinational entertainment corporation. Bruce also holds the patent for the technology behind Movielink, the movie industry's online distribution channel."

Fine and well so far, nothing out of the ordinary. That is, unless you dig a little deeper. It turns out that J.D. Lasica has a book out called Darknet. Quoting from Darknet:

"The Darknet--shorthand for the file-trading underground--is no place for rank amateurs. Forest should know. He is a member of six major movie piracy groups. He is also a channel operator on Internet Relay Chat for forty piracy channels. He is in many ways the ultimate digital renegade, the kind of copyright-flouting, authority-taunting young turk who gives movie studio titans and record company executives the cold sweats.

Except for one thing: He is being paid to commit piracy by a major media company.

Forest is, in effect, working both sides of the fence. The underground movie groups do not know that he is a full-time consultant for Sony Corp.--it would be bad news for Forest if he were unmasked. In turn, his corporate benefactor allows Forest to ply the piracy coves like a swashbuckling one-man Jolly Roger--swapping movie and music files, building up cred in the seamier corners of the Darknet--as a way to infiltrate and keep tabs on the illegal trading networks. "

http://64.233.161.104/search?q=cache:_OMkUCEux68J:www.socialtext.net/darknet/index.cgi%3FChapter%25203%253A%2520Inside%2520the%2520Movie%2520Underground+%22bruce+forest%22+darknet&hl=en%20target=nw

The final link to Sony comes during the end credits where a woman by the name of Rebecca Brandt receives special thanks. It happens that Ms. Brandt is the Senior Analyst for Sony Corporation of America, Broadcasting Services Company. Hrmm....

The only reasonable conclusion is that Sony has infiltrated the scene. Security is too low and must be raised.