Digital Journal — With a large portion of illegal Internet activity such as phishing, hacking and spyware originating from Amsterdam and other European countries, it can be a bit surprising that a Canadian is charged in a global software piracy ring.
Taking investigators almost a year to take down the ring, the RCMP worked closely with the FBI in the United States. Calgary RCMP customs and excise unit lead the investigation in Canada to combat the illegal distribution of copyrighted software between computer hackers in 11 countries.
Const. Tom Materi told the Calgary Sun search warrants were conducted in June 2005 all over the world, including in Alberta. Investigators seized dozens of PCs, data and pirated software.
Investigators spent almost a year analyzing the vast amount of data on the computer hard drives to get sufficient evidence to lay charges. While officials haven’t said how many people are implicated in the counterfeit software ring, the investigation did lead to a Calgary man.
Ronald Jason Lindholm, 56, has been charged with numerous crimes under both the Criminal Code and federal copyright law.
