Big dragnet in Italy and several European countries. The police have caught an illegal IPTV network which had 22 million users worldwide.
Police services in Italy, Europol and several European countries have put an end to the actions of a huge network ofIPTV illegal and pirate streaming. The service served 22 million users worldwide with programs from major TV broadcasters (Sky, DAZN) and streaming platforms, including Netflix, Prime Video and Disney+. In addition to this content, the pirate service also allowed you to watch competitions live.
A very organized pirate structure
The operation, called “Taken Down”, concerned not only Italy, but also the Netherlands, Sweden, Switzerland, Romania, Croatia, the United Kingdom, as well as China. The authorities seized “ 2,500 channels » and network servers, including 9 in Romania and Hong Kong. “ The majority of pirate signals came from Europe “, explains the Polizia Postale press release, “ which allowed fraudsters to achieve an illegal turnover of more than 250 million euros per month ».
In total, the financial damage caused by this network to rights holders is estimated at 10 billion euros per year! Suffice to say that we are not dealing with small fry here. 102 people were arrested, including network administrators identified in the United Kingdom and the Netherlands.
Police have not revealed the names of the websites distributing the illegal streaming streams. The operation required two years of investigation during which the authorities battled against suspects using false identities, encrypted messaging and false documents. They were charged with illegal broadcasting of audiovisual content via IPTV, unauthorized access to computer systems, fraud and money laundering.
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Source :
Bleeping Computer
