Nine months of internal emails were stolen earlier this month from MediaDefender, an anti-piracy firm used by recording companies and Hollywood studios. A group devoted to countering anti-piracy measures, aptly named MediaDefender-Defenders, claimed responsibility for the theft. After obtaining the documents, MediaDefender-Defenders dispersed the emails digitally through peer-to-peer programs.

Now the emails are posted on various sites around the web.

One key strategy that MediaDefender employs to combat illegal downloads is flooding various BitTorrent applications with phony material. However, the stolen emails also exposed some of MediaDefender’s less-scrupulous endeavors.

One such strategy was a fake pirate site called WiiVii.com that offered copyrighted files ready to download. As someone downloaded from that site, their IP address was saved in MediaDefender’s databases. Additionally, software was unknowingly installed on the user’s computer effectively turning it into a “zombie machine” helping to send fake files across file-sharing networks.

Commentary: There’s no real “good guy” in this situation. Yes, the emails were stolen, but they showed off some of the dirtier tactics employed by MediaDefender. Companies have started using progressive methods of fighting piracy and it’s inevitable that they’re going to have to do the same thing with online file sharing. All that money and effort fighting Napster early this century didn’t put a dent in peer-to-peer networks, or the new and improved methods of downloading files through BitTorrent.