Just because we can’t find it doesn’t mean they didn’t use the VPN service,” he said. “We’re limited to search by what the government gives us. There was no record of Ross Colby signing up to PIA with his two known email addresses, Arsenault said. The only thing the company holds is the email address used when the customer signs up.
This means they are unable to produce useful information in response to a subpoena.Īrsenault told the Court that PIA accepts several payment methods, including cryptocurrency, but doesn’t keep records of customers’ names and addresses. Last Friday, the San Jose Federal Court also heard that Colby told his roommate that he’d hacked a news website for pay.Īlso giving testimony was John Allan Arsenault, general counsel for London Trust Media, the owner of Private Internet Access.Īccording to Almanac News, Arsenault told the Court that some VPN companies, PIA included, do not retain logs of customers’ Internet activities. He had even helped Colby set one up, he said. Palo Alto Online has been reporting ( 1, 2) on the case, which has thrown up something of interest to VPN users.Īccording to evidence provided by FBI Special Agent Anthony Frazier, between July and September 2015, IP addresses operated by VPN provider Private Internet Access (PIA) were used to access email accounts and systems belonging to Embarcadero Media.Ī former Colby roommate claims that the pair discussed computer security and frequently had discussions about the use of VPNs.
#PRIVATE INTERNET ACCESS VPN TRIAL#
On May 29, 2018, Colby’s trial began in federal court in San Jose. Brought to you by the Almanac” was also left behind.įacing more than two decades in prison and fines totaling several hundred thousand dollars, Colby pleaded not guilty and was freed on bail. The message “Unbalanced Journalism for profit at the cost of human right. Then, in September 2015, several of the company’s websites were hacked to display the Guy Fawkes image associated with Anonymous.
He was charged with intentional damage to a computer, attempted damage, and misdemeanor computer intrusion.Īccording to the indictment, Colby illegally accessed Embarcadero Media email accounts in July 2015. The 34-year-old was accused of hacking into several local media websites owned by Embarcadero Media Group including the Palo Alto Weekly and the Almanac. District Federal Court in San Jose following an FBI investigation into alleged hacking offenses. In April 2017, San Francisco resident Ross M.