The big money behind Iran’s Internet censorship

Independent Iranian media have reported that “elements within the government and the Revolutionary Guard provide support to a number of VPN sellers,” according to a 2014 report from Small Media. “Reports hypothesize that this is a mutually profitable arrangement; lining the pockets of officials at the same time as it allows VPN sellers to continue in their work without the threat of state interference.”

BBC Persian journalist Hadi Nili says that not only do Iranian authorities sell VPN accounts, the Iranian government even uses VPNs in order to protect their own connections.

via The big money behind Iran’s Internet censorship.

“Killer Joe” Sues VPN-Using BitTorrent Pirates

The film in question grossed disappointing box office earnings, but these fresh lawsuits offer new revenue potential.

via “Killer Joe” Sues VPN-Using BitTorrent Pirates | TorrentFreak.

TorrentFreak asked both Leaseweb and SpotFlux what kind of information they will be able to share when the subpoena comes in, but we have yet to receive a response. In its privacy policy Spotflux explains that it will comply with court orders, but that the company keeps logs to a minimum.

This might be the first attempt to go after a VPN provider.  If they rotated their logs properly there shouldn’t be any information to give or hide.