AnSecurity crackdown in Italy against global cyber piracy networks

The Italian financial police announced the success of a large-scale security operation that resulted in dismantling an advanced live streaming piracy network, which caused financial losses estimated at around 300 million euros, equivalent to 348 million US dollars, to rights holders and global streaming platforms.

The operation in Italy targets major companies such as Sky, DAZN, Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify, where the network relied on an unprecedented technical system based on an application known as “CINEMAGOAL”, which enabled illegal access to live streaming content through external servers.

The police in Italy revealed that this system operated through virtual devices that continuously ran within the country, extracting access codes from legitimate subscriptions linked to fake accounts, and then periodically rebroadcasting them every few minutes, allowing it to bypass the security systems of streaming platforms.

Investigations clarified that the network in Italy succeeded in circumventing security verification systems, as it did not rely on static IP addresses, making tracking users more complex for regulatory authorities, and contributing to the spread of its services at low prices ranging from 40 to 130 euros annually.

According to authorities in Italy, the operation was executed in cooperation between the Public Prosecutor's Office in Bologna and the European Eurojust Agency, resulting in the seizure of foreign servers containing decryption data and the source code of the application, as part of synchronized operations in France and Germany.

The Italian financial police also confirmed the detection of the use of illegal broadcasting devices locally known as “Bizuto,” noting that they will impose fines on a thousand users of piracy systems, ranging from 154 to 5000 euros, as part of an extensive campaign to combat digital piracy.

This operation in Italy reflects the rising European efforts to combat electronic piracy networks, especially with the increasing losses of the global live streaming sector due to illegal activities targeting paid digital content.