Up until about a month ago, if you got caught pirating some software, music, or video, you could just claim that your router was left unsecured and that anyone could have accessed it. This claim would cause the party trying to sue you to drop their case against you and you’d walk off a free man or woman. But now times have changed and these big-shot lawyers accusing you of piracy now know that your router isn’t an acceptable cause for pirating.
So if you find yourself using the router excuse in a courtroom, be prepared to back it up. People have been receiving these letters in response to their claims:
“If it is your contention that at the relevant time you did all that you could to secure your network and PC but that, nevertheless, an intrusion occurred and that the infringing act complained of was perpetrated by a person or a person unknown who gained access to the network without your permission, please provide (in accordance with the Practice Directions for Pre-Action Protocol) all copies of the essential documents on which you rely.”
So get out the log files, prove you were running anti-virus software, and then some, because groups like the RIAA and MPAA are out to get you and take you down. Make sure your excuse is a valid one and you have the technical knowledge to back it up. Check out the TorrentFreak article for an excellent piece with some scary letters from a lawyer.
I Didn’t Download it, My Router Got Hacked! [TorrentFreak]