AMSTERDAM, 12 January 2018 – A crime group suspected of hosting a large–‐scale illegal IPTV streaming business has been shut down, following a collaborative investigation led by the Cypriot Police, with the support of the Cybercrime Division of the Greek police, the Dutch Fiscal Information and Investigation Service (FIOD), the Cybercrime unit of the Bulgarian police and Europol, as well as members of the Audiovisual Anti–‐Piracy Alliance (AAPA). The network is accused of illicitly Distributing Greek, Cypriot and foreign pay TV subscriber channels. These services were allegedly offered through retailers throughout Europe and sold as a monthly illegal subscription for as little as 20 Euros.
Following coordination of the investigations of the Greek and Cypriot police authorities, raids were conducted in Cyprus, Greece, and Bulgaria during which 17 house searches took place, four suspects were arrested and servers used to provide illegal access to the channels were shut down. The investigation also uncovered installed machine sites that work with the central server to relay subscriber channels. The raids involved cooperation with local police authorities and were supported by Europol and AAPA members Irdeto, the world leader in digital platform security, and Nova, a leading provider of home entertainment services in Greece, with Irdeto providing technical and forensic expertise. Europol supported the involved countries since the start of the investigations with criminal analysis and coordination. It Also provided on–‐the–‐spot support during the raids with operational tools such as the Europol mobil office.
“These raids, conducted by local police authorities in collaboration with Europol and our members, show the importance that law enforcement is placing on the issue of IP infringement and represent another step forward in our mission to fight piracy,” said Sheila Cassells, Executive Director, AAPA. “AAPA members like Irdeto and Nova are at the forefront of this fight against piracy and we will continue to take measures to support enforcement activities and push for effective and consistent legislation to aid this.”
“Streaming piracy is a growing problem affecting content owners, broadcasters and operators in Europe and across the world, and the enforcement activities conducted by organizations like Europol and the collaborative police organizations show the seriousness of this crime,” added Mark Mulready, Vice President – Cybersecurity Services, Irdeto and Vice President, AAPA. “We are closely aligned with the mission of the AAPA and will continue to work closely with and support our customers, partners and law enforcement agencies to detect, analyze, investigate and counter all types of piracy.”
About AAPA
AAPA represents companies involved in the provision of protected audiovisual services, security technology for such services, and the manufacturing of products which facilitate the delivery of such services. AAPA’s mission is to enable the fight against piracy where this involves the development, promotion, distribution, application or use of technologies resulting in the unauthorized use of protected audiovisual content, by co–‐ordinating intelligence and action supported by effective legislation and its implementation. For more information about AAPA’s work visit www.aapa.eu
About Irdeto
Irdeto is the world leader in digital platform security, protecting platforms and applications for media & entertainment, connected transport and IoT connected industries. Our solutions and services enable customers to protect their revenue, create new offerings and fight cybercrime. With nearly 50 years of expertise in security, Irdeto’s software security technology and cyber services protect over 5 billion devices and applications for some of the world’s best–‐known brands. Our unique heritage as a subsidiary of multinational media group Naspers (JSE: NPN) means that we are a well–‐established and reliable partner to help build a more secure future. Please visit Irdeto at www.irdeto.com
For further information, please contact:
Sheila Cassells:
+44 7500 243 136
AAPA
Sheila.cassells@aapa.eu
Miranda Rock
+44 7957 391 498
Rocket Launch for AAPA
Miranda@rocketlaunch.co.uk
Jon White
EMEA Manager, Public Relations, Irdeto
Mobile:
+44 (0)7384 234942
Email: jonathan.white@irdeto.com