Major Crackdown on Illegal Streaming Networks in Europe

Severity: High (Score: 67.0)

Sources: www.laliga.com, Bleepingcomputer, www.uefa.com

Published: 2026-06-03 · Updated: 2026-06-03

Keywords: illegal, streaming, laliga, crime, groups, crackdown, takes

Severity indicators: pla, rat

Summary

In a significant operation coordinated by Bulgaria and Europol, law enforcement agencies dismantled nine organized crime groups involved in illegal streaming. This operation, named 'Operation KRATOS 2', spanned seven months and resulted in the arrest of 29 suspects across 13 countries. Investigators targeted the broader criminal ecosystem supporting these illegal services, identifying over 18,000 IP addresses and 4,370 domains linked to piracy. The operation led to the removal of more than 27,000 illegal streaming URLs and flagged over 126,000 infringing objects. This crackdown follows a previous operation in 2024 that had already dismantled a network serving over 22 million users. The operation highlighted the ongoing challenges posed by organized crime in the digital content space, which not only infringes copyright but also exposes users to cybersecurity risks. Key Points: • Operation KRATOS 2 dismantled nine crime groups and arrested 29 suspects. • Over 27,000 illegal streaming URLs were removed during the operation. • The operation involved cooperation from 13 countries and targeted the entire criminal ecosystem.

Detailed Analysis

**Impact** The crackdown affected over 22 million users worldwide who accessed illegal streaming services distributing more than 2,500 TV channels, including sports, movies, and series. The operation targeted multiple sectors including digital content providers and copyright holders across at least 15 European countries and the United States. Business consequences include disruption of illegal revenue streams, seizure of €1.6 million in cryptocurrency, and confiscation of servers, IPTV devices, and domains. The operation also uncovered ancillary criminal activities such as drug and weapon possession linked to the streaming networks. **Technical Details** The illegal streaming networks used a distributed infrastructure separating customer-facing websites from content-hosting servers to evade detection across jurisdictions. Investigators identified over 18,000 IP addresses, 4,370 piracy-related domains, and flagged nearly 400,000 URLs for removal. The operation involved 112 to 148 searches and seizures of at least 29 servers and 270 IPTV devices. No specific malware, CVEs, or exploitation techniques were detailed in the sources. **Recommended Response** Defenders should monitor for suspicious IPTV devices, unauthorized streaming domains, and unusual cryptocurrency transactions linked to piracy operations. Network teams should block identified IP addresses and domains associated with illegal streaming services. Content providers must maintain collaboration with law enforcement and update detection rules to identify new infringing URLs and streaming platforms. No specific patches or malware signatures were provided; focus should be on threat intelligence sharing and blocking infrastructure indicators.

Source articles (3)

• Police dismantles 9 crime groups in illegal streaming crackdown — Bleepingcomputer · 2026-06-03
  European and international law enforcement agencies have dismantled nine organized crime groups and arrested 29 suspects in a major crackdown on illegal streaming operations. The seven-month "Operatio…
• Laliga Takes Part On An Unprecedented Europol Operation To Successfully Neutralize A Record Number Of Illegal Streaming Platforms And Illegal Iptvs — www.laliga.com · 2026-06-03
  LALIGA has constantly demonstrated its commitment on the fight against audiovisual fraud and illegal content consumption through different initiatives and complaints. Now, after months of work between…
• Operation KRATOS — www.uefa.com · 2026-06-03

Timeline

• 2024-06-01 — Operation KRATOS conducted: The previous operation dismantled a network serving over 22 million users and resulted in 11 arrests.
• 2026-06-03 — Operation KRATOS 2 launched: Law enforcement agencies dismantled nine organized crime groups involved in illegal streaming, arresting 29 suspects.
• 2026-06-03 — Operation KRATOS 2 results announced: Authorities identified over 18,000 IP addresses and removed more than 27,000 illegal streaming URLs linked to piracy.

Related entities

• Malware (Attack Type)
• Operation Kratos (Campaign)
• Operation Kratos 2 (Campaign)
• Operation Switch Off (Campaign)
• Belgium (Country)
• Bulgaria (Country)
• Croatia (Country)
• France (Country)
• Germany (Country)
• Greece (Country)
• Ireland (Country)
• Italy (Country)
• Latvia (Country)
• Macedonia (Country)
• Netherlands (Country)
• Poland (Country)
• Portugal (Country)
• Romania (Country)
• Spain (Country)
• Sweden (Country)
• Switzerland (Country)
• United Kingdom (Country)
• United States (Country)
• Netflix (Company)
• Spotify (Company)