US law enforcement authorities on Wednesday shut down one of the first computer networks to distribute illegal copies of the latest Star Wars movie - Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith - before it appeared in movie theatres. The crackdown was part of a criminal investigation targetting internet pirates using cutting-edge BitTorrent file-sharing software.
Federal agents executed 10 search warrants and seized the main server computer in a network that allowed people to download nearly 18,000 movies and software programmes, including many current releases, the FBI and Homeland Security Department said on Wednesday.
