BJ: Cops collared a Finn, a Brit, and a Scot who are reputed to be members of a gang responsible for spamming rootkits.

(Idiots across the globe helped the gang steal their personal financial secrets by clicking on email messages that included such treasures as Breplibot, a.k.a. Stinx-F, Ryknos, the rootkit backdoor with bot capabilities made famous by Sony-BMG in last year’s DRM fiasco.)

Are these guys the whole gang? Probably not. Authorities are digging through a whole bunch of hardware.

But chief among the mysteries to be solved: Why does the gang call itself MOOP?

At least one gang member apparently saw the South Park episode where the boys’ band, MOOP, gets nailed by the FBI for downloading music. This convinces the little twerps to stop playing, to keep people from ripping their songs.

Eventually, the boys come to understand that minstrels create for the sheer joy of it:

Kyle: Because that’s what real artists do. People are always gonna find a way to copy our music and swap it for free. If we’re real musicians, then we should just play and be stoked that so many people are listening.Stan: Beside, maybe our sound would have gotten downloaded for free, but if they were good songs then people still would have bought tickets to see our band in concert. [shots of Rick James, Ozzy, Britney and two other acts.]

Kyle: From now on, MOOP isn’t about money. MOOP is about music! We’re not striking anymore! Who’s with us?! [Grins. Gets no response.]

Britney: …We’re just about the money.

Other acts: Yeah, yeah.

At one point during MOOP’s strike, a TV drone intones, “In a recent poll we asked people if MOOP’s refusal to play would stop them from downloading music off the Internet. One percent said yes. Two percent said no. And ninety-seven percent said, ‘Who the hell is MOOP?!’”

Who indeed? How ’bout an international pack of losers who are just about the money?

Perhaps MOOP might have had better luck if they’d dubbed themselves The Wet Bandits.

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