Four U.S. men involved in Web sites offering music files of songs before they were commercially released have pled guilty to copyright infringement charges, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) said Tuesday.Derek A. Borchardt, 21, of Charlotte, North Carolina; Matthew B. Howard, 24, of Longmont, Colorado; and Aaron O. Jones, 31, of Hillsboro, Oregon, each pled guilty Tuesday to one count of conspiracy to commit copyright infringement for their involvement in the prerelease music group Apocalypse Crew or APC. George S. Hayes, 31, of Danville, Virginia, previously pled guilty to one count of criminal copyright infringement related to his involvement in prerelease music group Chromance or CHR. The guilty pleas, all in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia, represent the first involving members of prerelease music piracy groups from Operation FastLink, a DOJ initiative against online piracy worldwide, the agency said. Each of the four defendants faces up to five years in prison and a fine of US$250,000. As leading members of the two prerelease groups, the four defendants distributed digital copies of songs and albums before their commercial release in the U.S., DOJ said. The supply of prerelease music was often provided by music industry insiders, such as radio disc jockeys, employees of music magazine publishers or workers at compact disc manufacturing plants. After a group prepared a stolen work for distribution, the material was distributed in minutes to secure computer servers throughout the world. From there, within a matter of hours, the pirated works were distributed globally, filtering down to peer-to-peer and other public file-sharing networks accessible to anyone with Internet access and potentially appearing for sale around the world, DOJ said. The Recording Industry Association of America (RIAA) applauded the DOJ’s actions. “The illegal prerelease distribution of albums or individual tracks takes an especially heavy toll on the music community,” Brad Buckles, RIAA’s executive vice president for antipiracy, said in a statement.Operation FastLink has resulted in more than 120 search warrants executed in 12 countries, and the confiscation of hundreds of computers and illegal online distribution hubs, DOJ said. The operation has also caused the removal of more than US$50 million worth of illegally copied copyright software, games, movies and music from illegal distribution channels, DOJ said. Operation FastLink has yielded felony convictions for 27 people, including those involved in activities other than prerelease operations, DOJ said.Don’t forget to keep checking in at our CSO Security Feed page for updated news coverage. -Grant Gross, IDG News Service Related content news Chinese state actors behind espionage attacks on Southeast Asian government The distinct groups of activities formed three different clusters, each attributed to a specific APT group. By Shweta Sharma Sep 25, 2023 4 mins Advanced Persistent Threats Advanced Persistent Threats Cyberattacks feature How to pick the best endpoint detection and response solution EDR software has emerged as one of the preeminent tools in the CISO’s arsenal. Here’s what to look for and what to avoid when choosing EDR software. By Linda Rosencrance Sep 25, 2023 10 mins Intrusion Detection Software Security Monitoring Software Data and Information Security feature Top cybersecurity M&A deals for 2023 Fears of recession, rising interest rates, mass tech layoffs, and conservative spending trends are likely to make dealmakers cautious, but an ever-increasing need to defend against bigger and faster attacks will likely keep M&A activity steady in By CSO Staff Sep 22, 2023 24 mins Mergers and Acquisitions Data and Information Security IT Leadership brandpost Unmasking ransomware threat clusters: Why it matters to defenders Similar patterns of behavior among ransomware treat groups can help security teams better understand and prepare for attacks By Joan Goodchild Sep 21, 2023 3 mins Cybercrime Podcasts Videos Resources Events SUBSCRIBE TO OUR NEWSLETTER From our editors straight to your inbox Get started by entering your email address below. Please enter a valid email address Subscribe