Rebroadcaster / cardshare closed down for showing Sky PAY TV channels (In Cyprus )
This appeared in the Cyprus press this week. A TV rebroadcasting / cardshare service that was transmitting Sky PAY TV channels and NOVA Pay TV channels was closed down and the operators arrested. The operations was conducted in conjunction with Sky TV and a number of other PAY TV broadcasters.
Circuit illegal for foreign television signals dismantled the police station
Nicosia: The arrest under warrant, a 49chronou from Limassol, who deposited in the Police admitted the illegal resale of the television signals of pay channels British SKY, BFBS (British Force Base Station) and Nova Greece, went to Police in a coordinated operation, which began Tuesday at 9 am and ended late in the afternoon.
The arrested will be led today before the Limassol District Court to require further detention facility for interrogation.
Simultaneously, an arrest warrant in connection with the case against 37chronou also from Limassol, who is wanted.
It said police spokesman, Michael Katsounotos when undertaking the design of which began four months ago, members of the Cypriot police were accompanied by five foreign experts and technicians in particular Directors channel SKY, BFBS, Nova Greece and company’s satellite IRDETO encryption technology support purposes.
He said during the company under court orders, surveyed a total of three premises from which received various items such as laptop computers, data storage devices (USB), Servers (Servers), received for further scientific and forensic examinations.
Mr. Katsounotos said that”this is a great success because of the Cyprus Police with the cooperation of the affected, methodically, professionalism and complete confidentiality brought to a successful completion of their mission”, adding that the estimate is that there is” the activity of the suspects began quite some time and considering that offered to sell subscriptions of the television signal at three, six and twelve months for the amount of 55, 89 and 155 euros respectively, without the authorization of the beneficiaries.”
He said that the firm engaged by the Office for Combating Money Intellectual Property and illegal betting Police Headquarters in collaboration with the Department of screening Command, the Forensic Laboratory of Electronic Data Section D. Technical Support and Service Criminal Investigations.
According to Mr. Katsounotou the planning of the operation began four months ago and ended yesterday after information came before the Office for Combating Money Intellectual Property in cooperation with representatives of the British SKY subscription channels and BFBS (British Force Base Station) and Nova Greece on the basis of which was found on the web site through which it offered for sale by its subscription services by an unauthorized person.
He added that the purpose of the company was investigating the case relating to the following offenses: Conspiracy to commit felony and misdemeanor, fraud, abuse of inventions, unauthorized access and unlawful interference in a computer, illegal exploitation of copyright in violation of the provisions of the law ratifying democracy Convention for the crime through the Internet, contrary to the Prevention and Suppression Act of income from illegal acts and other offenses.
He noted that the offenses were committed in unknown at this stage dates in Cyprus through Cyprus or abroad.
In later statements this afternoon, Michael Katsounotos said today that it will be the further detention of 47chronou from Limassol to facilitate investigations.
Please note that the suspect deposited in the Police admitted the illegal resale of the television signals of pay channels British SKY, BFBS (British Force Base Station) and Nova Greece.
Simultaneously, he added, an arrest warrant in connection with the case against 37chronou also from Limassol, who is wanted.
Mr. Katsounotos also said that”all four servers identified in the manor, which belongs to the wanted penthero seems to be one of the most qualified and might be the third largest server seeking to date the pay channels, through which illegally sent signals to customers obtained through the Internet.”
”From the analysis so far of evidence”said Mr. Katsounotos,”that, at least for the person who was brought before the Court, had clients that corresponded to the total number of 1,395 persons and from recoveries of at least what was paid subscriptions, it appears that from 15 October 2010 and May 14, 2011, has received the sum of 103,500 euros.”
Biggest-ever swoop on illegal TV subscriptions
POLICE have busted what is believed to be one of the island’s biggest illegal providers of subscription television, in an operation that has been ongoing for the past four months.
Police arrested a 49-year-old Limassol man and were yesterday seeking a second suspect, 37, also from Limassol, believed to have been making hundreds of thousands of euros from the illegal provision of subscription television to Cypriot and European viewers.
The 49-year-old was arrested on Tuesday on suspicion of being the proprietor of a webpage selling illegal subscriptions to Sky UK, BFBS and Nova Greece.
Police said the webpage advertised three, six and 12-month subscriptions for €55, €89 and €155 respectively.
His arrest followed a sting operation in which technicians from the companies bought subscriptions and were issued a receipt by the suspect, police said.
The man, who owns a shoe shop in Limassol, was arrested on Tuesday.
In his shop, police found a laptop containing a list of his clients – 1,395 – from whom it appears the suspects have collected €103,500 between October 2010 and May this year.
At the 49-year-old’s home, police found a server, thought to be used to transmit the illegal signal to subscribers.
Their search led to another Limassol address, linked to the 37-year-old, where officers found four servers.
“The four servers found at the place, which belongs to the wanted man’s father-in- law, seem to be among the most specialised,” police spokesman Michalis Katsounotos said, not ruling out it “being the third biggest server sought by subscription channels to date.”
The 49-year-old remained in custody yesterday after his lawyer requested a postponement of his remand hearing to examine the charges and prepare his case. The hearing will be held today at the Limassol District Court.
Katsounotos said the 49-year-old had admitted to illegally supplying subscription channels Sky UK, BFBS and Nova Greece.
He also confirmed that even though the police were primarily interested in dealing with the providers, buyers who purchased the decoders could very well find themselves in hot water, as the law included provisions for them as well.
“We still haven’t looked into that aspect of things, but it is definitely something that we will deal with,” Katsounotos said.
Police raided three establishments in total on Tuesday, in an operation that started early in the morning – the culmination of a sting operation that started four months ago.
According to Katsounotos, members of the force were accompanied by technicians from Sky, BFBS, NOVA Greece and IRDETO, a software security and media technology company.
Armed with court orders, the police confiscated a number of storage devices, servers and computers that will be examined by experts.
source: _cyprus-mail.com/cyprus/biggest-ever-swoop-illegal-tv-subscriptions/20110616
More on this story from satellites.co.uk
Authorities Shut Down ‘BSkyB Pirate TV’
The European Association for the Protection of Encrypted Works and Services (AEPOC) just announced that a major pirate TV operation that provided almost 1,400 clients in Cyprus and other parts of Europe with illegal subscriptions to BSkyB, Nova, and BFBS has just been shut down. The operation ran from October 2010 to May 2011 and generated an income of €100,000.
Using a peer-to-peer (P2P) mechanism, which results in the legitimate, albeit abused, care plus decoder set-up across the internet, the pirate TV viewers were actually sharing a single card with a legitimate subscriber. The heads of the operation were able to do this by establishing a network of five servers that distributed the access codes from the legitimate cards to their clients’ P2P systems. It is currently the largest ‘card-sharing’ pirate operations AEPOC has uncovered. The agency said that every pirate operation leaves a trace, and in this case it was the payment receipts issued to clients of the card-sharing network.
“AEPOC and its members are committed to follow each incident and bring down pirates. Trustful collaboration with the police helps to achieve anti-piracy results in an increasingly short time frame.” said Michael Barley, AEPOC’s vice president. “Nevertheless,” he continued “the EU legislative framework needs to evolve to build an even bigger deterrent to prevent audio-visual piracy in the first place.”
Though AEPOC is focusing on bringing the heads of the pirate operation to justice, it is also considering carrying out legal action against the 1,400 customers.