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Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨FundMECFS@anarchist.nexus⁩ to ⁨technology@lemmy.world⁩

https://www.tomshardware.com/software/vpn/dutch-authorities-allegedly-seize-vpn-server-without-a-warrant-company-claims-that-law-enforcement-will-return-it-after-analyzing-the-device-fully

Dutch authorities allegedly seize VPN server without a warrant — company claims that law enforcement will return it after analyzing the device fully

The authorities apparently got tired of asking and just went in themselves.

Canada-based Windscribe, a VPN provider, just said that one of its European servers has been allegedly seized by Dutch authorities without a warrant. According to the company’s post on X, law enforcement said that they will return it to the service provider after they “fully analyze it.” It’s unclear why law enforcement impounded just a single rack from Windscribe’s cabinet, but the VPN provider said that it only uses RAM disk servers, meaning anyone who would look through the installed SSDs would only find a stock Ubuntu install on it, so the servers shouldn’t hold any trackable data.

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Comments

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Darkcoffee@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
Whatever they find is inadmissible, if there truly wasn’t a warrant.

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- jeansburger@piefed.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Doesn’t mean they can’t use it for parallel construction
  
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  - FartsWithAnAccent@fedia.io ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Does Dutch/EU law have that?
    
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- sudoku@programming.dev ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  this isn’t in US
  
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  - Natanael@slrpnk.net ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    repository.tilburguniversity.edu/…/download
    
    EU has similar laws and Dutch law allows for striking illegally collected evidence if the infringement was severe
    
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  - obinice@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Laws exist outside of that country.
    
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  - x00z@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    The same goes for NL.
    
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carrylex@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
Too sumarize the article:

US clickbait and ad invested news website directly quotes “trust me bro” Twitter post + describes in 2 sentences what a ramdisk is and does zero real “journalism” like maybe contacting mentioned dutch authorities or Windscribe themselfs.

Once again: Ban Tom’s Slopware. Post the original source instead.

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NepGinger@lemy.nl ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
What authorities exactly? How did they get their hands on these servers without being let in? Do they have a response to this all being put on twitter? Even the article doesn’t mention reaching out to “Dutch authorities” for comment, in a great journalistic failure to clarify anything.

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gressen@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
Got it, do not use IT services in Denmark.

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- deadmyk@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Dutch is not Denmark. Dutch is Netherlands
  
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  - sunbeam60@feddit.uk ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    “Oh you’re Danish! You should meet my friend Geert Van den Berg, he’s also from Dutchland!”
    
    If I had a penny for every time, I’d have at least three fiddy.
    
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  - lesinge@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    An important distinction lol
    
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  - pdxfed@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    www.youtube.com/watch?v=-csGDoSSZyc
    
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Zephorah@discuss.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
To what end? What authority? At this point it could be you or me in a mask with a body cam, for all the credentials authorities are showing these days.

Spoiler: it was a random thief in need of hardware.

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- P1nkman@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  The thief just want to set up their own gaming server; issue is that it’s too expensive to purchase, so it’s easier to steal it.
  
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  - FundMECFS@anarchist.nexus ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Imagine all the €€ worth of ram in there at current prices 😅
    
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  - Zephorah@discuss.online ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Good odds that type of thing is happening more than is being told.
    
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flowers_galore2@lemmynsfw.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
RAM disks alone will not be enough; the law enforcement can literally freeze the DRAM for forensics.

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- BozeKnoflook@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Police have had, since the late 90s I think, the “Hotplug” which is a special battery pack / generators that provide a special power plug where you can gently loosen the existing plug, slide the generator’s plug in place over it, then remove the computer from the main supply while keeping it powered on.
  
  Power plug locks only buy you time or prevent casual mayhem; the police can work around those.
  
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  - Strawberry@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    I’m intrigued how that would work with some styles of plug that disconnect before coming out of the socket like the uk type-G plugs. Unless they’re not touching the socket itself and connecting somewhere else?
    
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  - DancingTable@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Should build the software so the second it loses internet connection, or its IP address changes, it clears the ram.
    
    Cannot move a server without it losing internet, and even if they find a way around it, it’d still force an IP address change.
    
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  - tuxiqae@lemmy.dbzer0.com ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Interesting
    
    cdsg.com/products/hotplug-field-kit
    
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- MonkderVierte@lemmy.zip ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  While it is running…
  
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- xylogx@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  As long as they have no logs the only thing you could get from memory is encryption keys, which can be rotated.
  
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TheObviousSolution@lemmy.ca ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
Free advertising for Windscribe if their claims are true. Also a lot of people in the thread spreading fud about it without any real evidence. I know because I actually tried to search for it. They are based in Canada and as such part of the Nine Eyes group, but they have a heavy no-logs focus towards privacy. What was seized was one of their Dutch proxies running on ram drives. They could put all the effort they want into preserving power, it doesn’t mean much if all they don’t have any logs except the vaguest of statistics. It doesn’t matter how mature they are if the privacy practices are there.

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AllNewTypeFace@leminal.space ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
Police have UPS-like devices which splice into existing mains cables to keep machines alive on the way into the forensics lab. Presumably it’s standard practice to use those.

Of course, the server could be configured to wipe itself if it loses connectivity for more than a few seconds, or its routing changes. The police would need devices that route Ethernet traffic over 5G, though those would presumably be detectable as bandwidth goes down and latency goes up.

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- glitch1985@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  No clue if data centers in other countries are similar to the ones in the US but the handful I’ve been in are basically Faraday cages with zero cellphone service inside so it would be quite the feat keeping any kind of internet connection after the ethernet cable is removed.
  
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vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
Oh no, without a warrant. How could they. How impolite. No, our security is only intended for jurisdictions with law-abiding police.

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- Saledovil@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Fun fact, but you can’t really do much if the police decide to just take your stuff, because they have guns. And likely more than you do.
  
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  - vacuumflower@lemmy.sdf.org ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
    Yes. They should perhaps dispose of that server when returned, or thoroughly examine all the firmware and such for changes. A hostile party has touched it.
    
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zer0bitz@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
That is why you dont use VPN. See you guys in I2P.

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- Psythik@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  Mullvad is safe. They were raided and the authorities got nothing.
  
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- FalschgeldFurkan@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨month⁩ ago
  No, this is just why you don’t use Windscribe.
  
  They have a reputation for being in a legislation where they have to save logs. They themselves know that they’re the “black sheep” among VPN providers, which is why they continuously make cheap offers and use raunchy advertising, like this one: Image
  
  Doesn’t take a genius to figure out that their VPN is likely insecure
  
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