The content hacking game has traveled a long way from the days of camcorder and knock-offs sold on the corner of the street.
Over the last decade and a half, the arrival of digital distribution methods and the acceleration of Internet speeds have created a problem with a different magnitude entirely. VPNs and other privacy technologies, meanwhile, helped people conceal their shaded activity online.
According to Keron Sharp, who is leading a fact of the anti-piracy organization, the complexity of the modern landscape requires a new approach. Previously, it was a question of pursuing people who perform illegitimate sites, while now the focus is on the attempt to prevent and disrupt.
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“When you look at the mid-2000s, it’s the night and the day, because technology continues to change both the legal and illegal landscape,” said Sharp Techradar Pro.
“Streaming video in particular has been transformative for the entertainment industry, but it has also made life easier for criminals. He has also changed the perception of public piracy; When there is no physical product, it is more difficult to convince people that an illegal act has occurred. “
The scale of the hacking problem means that it can be difficult to determine where better investing its resources. But Sharp says that his strategy is to continue pressure on pressure and wearing criminals with “relativability” – and action against hacked content consumers is also on cards.
A crime without a victim?
A common justification for content hacking is that it is a crime without a victim; The production companies and the Hollywood stars can afford to make a little less money, the argument goes. Others have painted hackers like Robin Hood numbers, flying rich and giving to the poor.
This is a narrative Sharp heard time and again in its 17 years actually and the one it rejects as a false idea. People who lose as a result of piracy are not the actors and the rich executives, he claims, but rather the Todder.
“The amount of money it takes to produce a movie or television series is considerable, in hundreds of millions,” he explained. “So, if the production companies do not want to take the risk on lower margin projects due to piracy, these types of productions simply do not exist. Fans will finally be people who suffer.”
“Even greater risk are those who have” normal “jobs in the industry – sound engineers, camera operators, builders define and so on. These people rely on ordinary salaries in a company which hinders the best of the time, but the concerns of money will only create more insecurity. “
Asked if broadcasters and other industry players should take responsibility for their role in the info to piracy, by prices of people out of the legitimate market, Sharp was skeptical. “The broadcasters would probably say that the pricing is to the extent of the cost of production … and there will always be a situation where people think they pay too much,” he said.
Maybe it’s precisely the problem. As long as people think they are too exhausted and feel the amount of siloshing money in entertainment and sports, hacking will continue to feel like an act to stick to man.
The forgotten risk
The ethical issues that surround piracy, an often overlooked factor is the potential for end users themselves to be in a perilous situation.
According to the Webroot security company, cybercriminals frequently abuse illegal websites and torrentant websites to distribute malware and phisk software for personal data. And there is no way to eliminate this security risk, regardless of the caution or experience of the user.
“Illegal streaming site owners need a way to create a feed stream and are therefore often happy to sell the advertising space on their sites via illegitimate ways,” Kelvin Murray, the main researcher of Webroot.
“This then leads to the attackers occupying such a space to plant links and pop-ups that cause serious safety threats to users.”
The types of threats encountered on hacking sites are numerous and varied, ranging from malware and ransomware to phishing and banking scams. Cryptojacking campaigns would also have exceeded this year’s popularity as a result of the Crypto boom.
The long and short, says Murray, is that it is impossible to stay safe on illegitimate websites, because their operators are not encouraged to put in place one of the usual structures in place which usually shot visitors to the attack .
Although Webroot does not appreciate the use of illegal streaming websites, it is stated that some web users of red flags in general should be aware of, including contextual windows, multiple redirects, and browser requests. to modify.
“We also recommend that, when browsing any web site, users update their software and operating systems, use antivirus and anti-phishing detection, and check all links before clicking. , especially when they claim to offer something that seems too good to be true, “added Murray.
That said, however, not even the best antivirus in the world will protect consumers with hacked content in case of law enforcement.
A repression arrives
Historically, while those who exploit piracy websites and illegal streams have been confronted with the prospect of legal action, people who consume pirated content have widely disappeared.
In recent months, for example, facts have been involved in the arrest and prosecution of several people have been noted to sell or give illegally access to high-end channels and sports content, but in none of These cases have been charged against end users.
However, Sharp says that a repression is on the horizon that will affect the parts on both sides of the hacking equation. Naturally, he could not offer details, but he promised that something is in the works.
“First of all, we want to educate people,” he said. “They must be informed that they put money in the hands of criminals, that industries could be destroyed as a result of their non-paid and that there are attached security risks.”
“But people who continue to use illegal sites must know that there are also sanctions. Beyond the alert notices, it did not really have a campaign to date targeting people who consume content illegally – but that happens. “
It’s hard not to wonder if the matrone tone and the stirring finger worked against the fact over the years. After all, some people worship rebel, especially if they think they can get away from it. But this time, Sharp warns, “it’s not an empty threat”.
