A Dutch hosting company is evading justice for almost 20 because it is almost impossible to prove malicious intent. The company is allegedly facilitating illegal activities, including child pornography, cyber attacks, phishing, and more. The company, named Ecatel, is owned by Bap K (75) and Reinier van E (34) since 2002.
Difficult to prove
Cybersecurity professor at TU Delft Michel van Eeten stated that Ecatel was one of the top ten companies involved in such activities, however, there is no indication of its owners knowingly colluded in illegal activities, which makes it difficult to prove.
According to the law, the company is not responsible for its clients’ content, but when its warned about such activities it should act. On the other hand, Ecatel is also delaying the investigation by demanding proof that children in child pornography images are really underage, or only enabling very few abuse reports at the time.
In 2019, activist Ron Guilmette discovered stolen American IP addresses worth millions which are stored by a Limburg businessman on Ecatel servers. The owners are denying involvement in criminal activities.