This was linked off of the Dallas Observer blog here: http://blogs.dallasobserver.com/unfairpark/2009/04/so_what_l...
How legit this is, or how credible Dallas Observer is, I have no idea.
I've worked at various hosting companies around Dallas for 5 years, and have worked or observed quite a few abuse cases involving the federal government. This sort of heavy-handed action (killing an entire company's operations for a single client) has NEVER happened in my experience, and definitely not for something as innocuous as copyright infringement. That's what the DMCA is for. The feds don't get involved unless it's some seriously nasty stuff going on, like child porn, suspected terrorist communication, fraud, malware distribution, etc.
In the event that the government gets involved, they will have a field agent demand access to individual systems under a subpoena, but only to the systems actually involved (maybe some switches/routers as well). Unless Core IP has been proven to be complicit in some kind of ultra-illegal activity, e.g. the CTO is the kingpin of some hardcore piracy network, I have a hard time believing that this has anything to do with a leaked movie. I'd think that the Secret Service (US Treasury) would be involved in such a case, rather than the FBI.
This really is completely ridiculous, though. Makes you want to go read the common carrier laws cover-to-cover :)
edit: I guess this piracy thing has been confirmed as a rumor for some time... but hopefully this sheds some light about how the process works :)
edit: I mean, there have to literally be hundreds of other possible explanations.
It'd be like evacuating a city block because of a single resident's alleged wrongdoings.
That makes it his word against the FBI, who have no comment. There aren't that many who can call in an FBI raid seizing millions of dollars worth of computer equipment causing millions of dollars worth of collateral damage to the economy. But Rupert Murdoch can. Two days ago, a pre-leak DVD copy of http://www.google.com/search?q=x+men+origins+workprint+torre.... arrived on Rupert Murdoch's desk. Rumor from a random guy on the internet alleges the Rupert Murdoch incident. When Rupert Murdoch is angry, the FBI suits up and smashes your shit. Maybe RM really leaked it and wants to make himself look less suspicious.
http://www.reddit.com/r/technology/comments/89vm4/if_you_run.... Reddit also eventually concludes that the connections here are all rumor and possibly an April Fool's joke mixed in somewhere.
I agree with you as well- that these events are likely connected, but as far as I understand it is just speculation at this point.
Also that a random guy claimed it was connected to the data center raid. Different random guys, of course.
I edited my post above to make it a little more clear, I think. Basically nothing is known about what happened except that the FBI offered to speed up their analysis of the machines if the corporations contact the FBI.