Too profitable deal brought the security forces to a whole network of pirated content.
Italian security forces have uncovered a large scheme of pirated access to paid services, where the usual IPTV was only part of the business. The organizers sold cheap subscriptions, and behind outwardly a simple service there was a complex system to bypass the protective mechanisms of streaming platforms.
The Ravenna Financial Guard, with the support of special units and on behalf of the Bologna Prosecutor’s Office, conducted more than 100 searches and seizures throughout Italy. The operation was called Tutto Chiaro. Under attack was the network through which users received illegal access to the content of SKY, DAZN, Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify.
The investigation began with monitoring social networks. According to the agency, the security forces for the first time identified the technology built around the application CINEMAGOAL. The program connected clients’ devices to a foreign server and helped decrypt the selected content.
In Italy, there were also virtual machines that intercepted around the clock and passed the original codes of legal subscriptions issued to fictitious persons every three minutes. At the output, buyers received a signal in the open form and could watch paid content without official payment.
The security forces consider the system to be technically complex. It not only bypassed the protection of platforms, but also improved the quality of viewing, and also reduced the risk of identifying end users. Connection through the application was not tied directly to a specific IP address, which complicated the checks.
More than 70 sellers were distributed. They offered annual access for 40-130 euros, depending on the selected set of services. The money was accepted mainly through hard-to-trafficked methods, including cryptocurrencies, foreign or fictitiously executed accounts. Part of the proceeds, the sellers handed over the scheme to the organizers.
The prosecutor’s office, with the participation of Eurojust, also achieved the seizure of foreign servers in France and Germany. According to the investigation, they stored data to decoding protected signals and the source code of CINEMAGOAL. In parallel, the security forces discovered the use of a more traditional IPTV scheme, known in Italy as “pezzotto”.
About 200 employees of the Financial Guard participated in the operation. The seized devices and data will help to identify all participants, including end buyers, as well as assess illegal profits. Preliminary damage to rightholders was estimated at about 300 million euros. The first 1000 identified customers face fines ranging from 154 to 5000 euros.
Cheap access to other people’s content is rarely just a successful find. Behind such savings are often people who earn on gray schemes, and the end buyer receives not only a dubious service, but also risks being in the investigation materials. The more convenient the circumvention of the rules looks, the higher the price of trust in it may be.
Italian security forces have uncovered a large scheme of pirated access to paid services, where the usual IPTV was only part of the business. The organizers sold cheap subscriptions, and behind outwardly a simple service there was a complex system to bypass the protective mechanisms of streaming platforms.
The Ravenna Financial Guard, with the support of special units and on behalf of the Bologna Prosecutor’s Office, conducted more than 100 searches and seizures throughout Italy. The operation was called Tutto Chiaro. Under attack was the network through which users received illegal access to the content of SKY, DAZN, Netflix, Disney+ and Spotify.
The investigation began with monitoring social networks. According to the agency, the security forces for the first time identified the technology built around the application CINEMAGOAL. The program connected clients’ devices to a foreign server and helped decrypt the selected content.
In Italy, there were also virtual machines that intercepted around the clock and passed the original codes of legal subscriptions issued to fictitious persons every three minutes. At the output, buyers received a signal in the open form and could watch paid content without official payment.
The security forces consider the system to be technically complex. It not only bypassed the protection of platforms, but also improved the quality of viewing, and also reduced the risk of identifying end users. Connection through the application was not tied directly to a specific IP address, which complicated the checks.
More than 70 sellers were distributed. They offered annual access for 40-130 euros, depending on the selected set of services. The money was accepted mainly through hard-to-trafficked methods, including cryptocurrencies, foreign or fictitiously executed accounts. Part of the proceeds, the sellers handed over the scheme to the organizers.
The prosecutor’s office, with the participation of Eurojust, also achieved the seizure of foreign servers in France and Germany. According to the investigation, they stored data to decoding protected signals and the source code of CINEMAGOAL. In parallel, the security forces discovered the use of a more traditional IPTV scheme, known in Italy as “pezzotto”.
About 200 employees of the Financial Guard participated in the operation. The seized devices and data will help to identify all participants, including end buyers, as well as assess illegal profits. Preliminary damage to rightholders was estimated at about 300 million euros. The first 1000 identified customers face fines ranging from 154 to 5000 euros.
Cheap access to other people’s content is rarely just a successful find. Behind such savings are often people who earn on gray schemes, and the end buyer receives not only a dubious service, but also risks being in the investigation materials. The more convenient the circumvention of the rules looks, the higher the price of trust in it may be.
