Drug trafficking exchanges are carried out in the PS4 game voice chat, and the FBI begins investigation


by

Ion Şipilov

Technology media Motherboard reported that in October 2019, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) had applied for a search warrant to investigate the “Drug Distribution Network formed on PlayStation 4 (PS4)”. According to Motherboard, drug dealers were using a specific game to exchange drug sales.

FBI Asked Sony for Data on User Who Allegedly Used PlayStation Network to Sell Cocaine-VICE
https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/zmjp73/fbi-asked-sony-playstation-4-user-data-cocaine-dealer

FBI pulled PlayStation 4 data to break up an alleged cocaine ring-Polygon
https://www.polygon.com/2019/12/3/20993770/playstation-4-cocaine-ring-fbi-psn-messages

In order to collect information about the drug trafficking network that the drug trafficker “Dola” Curtis Alexander has created on the PS4 online service, the FBI is asking Sony to disclose information. FBI obtains information from an individual classified as a confidential source ( CHS ) that Alexander sells cocaine for $ 34,000 / kg. CHS also revealed to FBI that Alexander is using an account ID of “Speedola20” on PlayStation Network (PSN), the PS4 online service.

In order to dismantle the drug trafficking network based on this information, the FBI filed a search warrant application on October 22, 2019 in the district court in the Western Province of Missouri. According to this application, the FBI is asking Sony to disclose information about some users, saying, 'Please disclose the above information to the government within 14 days of the delivery of this warrant.' This 'some users' are considered to be Alexander.


by

Florian Gagnepain

CHS seems to have contacted Alexander through the PS4 game, and the court document says, “During the game, CHS and Alexander communicated by voice communication (voice chat function) that can be used by players who can play online multiplayer. I took it '. In addition, Alexander believes that he has chosen this method for drug trafficking because he believes the conversation of the voice call system in online games is safe. According to the FBI, CHS purchased about 100 g of narcotics from Alexander for $ 4400 (about 480,000 yen).

The court document does not reveal the name of the game that Alexander and CHS used for the call. Also, there seems to be no voice communication content in the game recorded by the game operator or Sony. However, Alexander has also communicated with CHS in the PSN text message function, so it seems that information on drug trafficking remains firm and Sony has requested information disclosure.

As a result, the FBI requires Sony to disclose all data it may hold. Items that require information disclosure include 'all communication contents linked to the PSN account', so include emails and chats sent and received by the account, other messages, destination addresses and sending date and time, etc. It is. In addition, FBI provides information such as name, address, phone number, account password, security questions and answers, IP address used for account registration and login, as well as details about games played by Alexander, It seems that they are requesting to disclose data on the progress of.


by Hello I'm Nik GB

It is unknown whether Sony has responded to information disclosure. Motherboard seems to have asked Sony to comment, but has not received a response at the time of writing the article.

Motherboard says, “Law enforcement agencies are increasingly demanding not only Internet-related companies but also game makers and Internet-connected device makers.”

in Game, Posted by logu_ii