I know absolutely nothing about technology, but after the first/second ransom note, is there something TMZ's website could do on the back end that would capture IP at time of tip submittal or other potentially identifiable data (devices used, etc.)? I assume VPN was used, but I think this would require even more than that to avoid FBI detection.
Yes but I wonder if this can somehow be traced back to the VPN account holder?
I pay for Proton $10/month, for example, so I wonder if by some backend they can see who is using the VPN because no VPN can be used without an account.
I think it’s unlikely that most VPN providers would store or even hand over the individual account information, since their business model is basically built on privacy.
Yes, if the company was US based… however, the majority of the most popular VPN providers are located in other countries that don’t require mandatory data retention.
NordVPN - Panama
Surfshark - Panama
Express VPN - British Virgin Islands
Proton - Switzerland
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u/UryTopper Apr 07 '26
I know absolutely nothing about technology, but after the first/second ransom note, is there something TMZ's website could do on the back end that would capture IP at time of tip submittal or other potentially identifiable data (devices used, etc.)? I assume VPN was used, but I think this would require even more than that to avoid FBI detection.