FBI raids cable modem upgraders
The FBI and local police have raided the homes of 13 people suspected of altering their cable modems to remove bandwidth caps. Altering the modems is a straightforward violation of the service contract, but the article provides no answers as to why the cable company didn’t use technological measures to prevent bandwidth limits to be altered; nor why the FBI and police are paying for enforcement of a private contract, rather than the cable company.
Members of the Toledo police computer crimes task force and FBI agents served search warrants at 13 residences, including an apartment, a condominium, and single-family houses. Investigators believe cable modems that connect Buckeye Express customers to the Internet were altered, allowing computer users unauthorized access to excessive amounts of bandwidth.[...]
In all, they seized 23 computers, including three laptops; three hard drives, and 13 cable modems. No charges were filed and no arrests were made. “To the best of my knowledge, there have been no similar search warrants executed or investigations in the country,” [task force member Detective Bart Beavers] said.
[...]
[Buckeye CableSystem information services director Paul Shryock] said changing the modem to use more bandwidth is a violation of the customer service agreement. He said using more bandwidth than what one is entitled to receive affects Internet service for other customers
– Toledo Blade, Searches by police, FBI target bandits of bandwidth.