A fourth man received a suspended sentence of 18 months for his involvement in the network, which offered warez – software that has been stripped of its copy protection – over the internet.
DrinkorDie was shut down in 2001 after an operation involving the FBI, the US Justice Department and several international police forces. It was at the time one of the most successful warez groups in the world, best known for its release of Windows 95 a few days before Microsoft's official release.
According to the UK's National Hi-Tech Crime Unit (NHTCU), which carried out the British end of the investigation, the group classified members in four categories in order of importance and responsibility: Leader or co-leader, Council, Staff, and general membership.
Council and Staff members generally were the most active in the group's "release" work – the process by which the group distributed software over the internet in violation of copyright laws. Members designated as "suppliers" provided new software to the group often days or weeks before the software was commercially available.
Once software was supplied, highly skilled "crackers" would permanently defeat its copyright protections, thereby allowing the software to be illegally reproduced, distributed and used by anyone obtaining a copy. The "cracked" version would then be tested, packed, and rapidly distributed over the internet to an ever-expanding collection of illegal internet sites.
Cracked software released by DrinkorDie has been found on pay-for-access web sites in the US, China and elsewhere, says the NHTCU.
The international investigation began in October 2000 and led to over 70 search warrants being executed in Australia, Norway, Sweden, Finland, the US and UK. To date it has resulted in custodial sentences of up to 46 months in Australia, Norway, the US and now the UK.
"This was a complex investigation which involved the Unit working in partnership with law enforcement colleagues across the globe," said Detective Superintendent Mick Deats, Deputy Head of the NHTCU.
"We are sending out a clear message to people who may wish to commit these types of crime that policing is matching them every step of the way, to ensure we protect individuals, business and government from all forms of hi-tech crime," he added.
Beth Scott, Vice President, EMEA, Business Software Alliance commented:
"DrinkorDie members helped create a software black market worth millions of pounds. These individuals were not naïve teenage hackers but adults with seemingly responsible jobs. We would never rejoice in anyone going to prison but we do not accept their defence that this was a victimless crime - their actions clearly contributed to a major piracy problem that impacts jobs, the economy and the businesses and consumers who benefit from innovation."
The sentences handed out on Friday by Judge Focke are: