Sony Pixel Power calrec Sony

FOCUS ON PIRACY: INSIDE THE MIND OF A PIRATE - PART 3: ADVICE FOR THE M&E INDUSTRY

15/05/2023

If you've read the other two blogs in this series, you'll be fully up to speed. If not, you can catch up on the human motivations of a pirate and a deep dive into the pirate ecosystem and economy.

The Technology Conundrum

Today's hyper-connected lives means there's not a lot we do that doesn't involve some form of connected device talking to a server somewhere. Heating, travel, leisure, even taking a photo on our phones, our interaction with technology is ubiquitous. The challenge though, is that for every positive use of technology, there is an equivalent where it is used to cause harm at either an individual or industry level. Readers of the first two blogs will be familiar with the concept of piracy eras marked - and ended - by technology advancements. The IPTV era, described to us as a hornet's nest, has made opening illegal streaming services as easy as opening a laptop. Like a game of chess, the industry needs to block each pirate move to deliver an ultimate checkmate. In terms of the how', the pirate we interviewed had these words of advice for the M&E industry: Educate, Collaborate and Protect.

Educate: Driving Change in Consumer Behavior

Our pirate told us that his school age children are increasingly being educated about IP theft. Now with supporting legislation, the law has teeth through which to prosecute; laws that didn't exist when a lot of today's pirates were taking their formative steps into the IT industry. While such education will help to enrich knowledge of school age children, further industry initiatives need to be taken to drive changes in consumer behavior. Attempts have been made before such as in the early 2000's the UK's Federation Against Copyright Theft (FACT) and the Motion Picture Association of America in co-operation with the Intellectual Property Office of Singapore created a video that played at the cinema and on DVDs under the title of You Wouldn't Steal a Car, Piracy is a Crime'. While it showed downloading films to be a crime, it didn't focus on the wider industry implications - which include the direct financial impact on the creative industries as reduced budgets, caused by lower box office or distribution revenues, means less content will be created.

Collaborate: An Industry That's Stronger Together

Given the scale of piracy activity in the industry today, no single organization is going to bring piracy to a halt. Yet collectively, through industry coalitions such as Alianza, AVIA/CAP, IBCAP and Sygnat, all of which NAGRA is a proud member of, shared intelligence and insight is proven to drive effective action. And there are many examples of where this has happened. Operation 404 has been a large operation in Brazil, now in its fifth year of operation. It continually tackles piracy through Alianza, a coalition of content owners, industry bodies, law enforcement organizations and vendors. The firepower of such a body and the prosecutions it can leverage are significant. In our interview with the pirate, the continuous fear of getting caught came to a head when he received a single phone call threatening legal action and with it the risk of enormous debt. He stopped immediately. Other tactics such as knock and talk', as evidenced recently in the UK, can also be used in conjunction with law enforcement to deliver a strong message well before costly prosecutions are launched.

Protect: Keeping One Step Ahead

Pirates steal through technology so the best way to defeat them is with better technology. Technologies such as forensic watermarking and wider content protection solutions all have a key role to play in blocking piracy attempts. With solutions like forensic watermarking, there is no debate if the content is pirated - it's clear who the content was licensed to and consequently where the leak originated. Not watermarking content is not only compromising potential revenue but also gives pirates free rein. Equally, if you're a content owner, and your content has been pirated, without watermarking, you can't know where in the distribution process or which licensee has caused the leak. This means recourse or even stopping the leak becomes impossible.

Look Before You Leap

Perhaps one of the sagest lessons from our interview with the pirate was also the simplest. The level of change in our industry demands rapid innovations through which to satisfy and delight subscribers. Used to attract and retain subscribers, new features are deployed to ensure competitive positions are retained and value is preserved. However, each time an update is issued to a service, it is immediately leapt on by the pirate community. Knowing the pace of change can compress development timelines, they interrogate the software to identify new opportunities that can be exploited. These loopholes, which may be found in one or many of the range of devices needing to be supported by today's video service operators can potentially provide the next hornet's nest of activity for pirates as content is gathered for inclusion in the pirate service.

But pirates also exploit loopholes across the entire content distribution chain. Pirates focus on how subscribers consume content which can mean exploiting vulnerabilities that are created through compressed development timelines of new features and the delivery of increasingly complex use cases. Ensuring that every door and every window is closed to prevent illicit access is key if the industry is to outplay our pirate foes.

It is because of these vulnerabilities that solutions are required to protect against streaming piracy. To address this threat, video service operators worldwide are using solutions such as NAGRA Active Streaming Protection to ensure every door and every window remains securely cl
LINK: https://dtv.nagra.com/focus-piracy-inside-mind-pirate-part-3-advice-me...
See more stories from nagra

Most recent headlines

05/01/2027

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be demoed at CES 2026

Worlds first 802.15.4ab-UWB chip verified by Calterah and Rohde & Schwarz to be ...

01/06/2026

Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026

January 6 2026, 05:30 (PST) Dolby Sets the New Standard for Premium Entertainment at CES 2026 Throughout the week, Dolby brings to life the latest innovatio...

02/05/2026

Dalet Flex LTS Delivers Smarter Search, Faster Editing, and an AI-Ready Foundation for Modern Media

Dalet, a leading technology and service provider for media-rich organizations, t...

01/05/2026

NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to Integrate Dolby's Full Suite of Premium Picture and Sound Innovations

January 5 2026, 18:30 (PST) NBCUniversal's Peacock to Be First Streamer to ...

01/04/2026

DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION

January 4 2026, 18:00 (PST) DOLBY AND DOUYIN EMPOWER THE NEXT GENERATON OF CREATORS WITH DOLBY VISION Douyin Users Can Now Create And Share Videos With Stun...

27/03/2026

GatesAir Expands AirWatch365 Managed Service

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Dejero, Eutelsat, Others to Offer 'Field to Air' Demo at NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Global NextGen TV Takes Center Stage at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

USSI Global Opens Media Transport Solutions Lab

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

27/03/2026

Net Insight Elevates Nimbra Edge to Govern Live Media Sys...

At NAB Show 2026, Net Insight will showcase the next evolution of Nimbra Edge, its orchestration and control layer designed to manage live media services across...

27/03/2026

Harmonic Delivers Winning Live Sports Streaming Innovatio...

Harmonic (NASDAQ: HLIT) today announced powerful new innovations that further elevate the company's sports streaming solution. The advanced capabilities enh...

27/03/2026

Bitmovin s Player Web X Expands with Performance First Ad...

Bitmovin, the leading provider of video streaming solutions, today announced significant new capabilities for Player Web X, its next-generation web video player...

27/03/2026

CS live Builds Future Ready OB Van With Riedel MediorNet...

Riedel Communications today announced that Czech-based production company CS live has equipped its newest outside broadcast (OB) van with an integrated Riedel i...

27/03/2026

MPTS 2026 Unveils First Wave of Speakers Featuring BBC Sk...

130 Industry Experts Confirmed as Show Celebrates its 10th Anniversary MPTS, the UK's largest and most influential event for the media, production and tech...

27/03/2026

Grass Valley and NVP Elevate LALIGA Broadcast Production...

Grass Valley today announced the successful completion of a major live production deployment with NVP, a leading European media company specializing in live spo...

27/03/2026

Appear Business Momentum Drives Leadership in Live Produc...

Showcases resilient solutions for satellite-to-IP migration, REMI and hybrid live production Appear ASA (Appear, OSE:APR), a global leader in live production t...

27/03/2026

Lightware MX2 delivers rock-solid 4K60 HDMI 10-bit signal...

San Francisco, California, March 2026 - Microsoft Ignite, a major annual conference hosted by Microsoft for developers, IT professionals, partners and business ...

27/03/2026

Clear-Coms EQUIP Wireless System Keeps Youth With A Missi...

Clear-Com is proud to highlight its support for worship teams through professional communication solutions, with the deployment of its EQUIP wireless system a...

27/03/2026

Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo

Orban Collaborates with Sage on Virtualized EAS Technology Demo Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments Sage Alerting Systems (SAS), in cooperation wit...

27/03/2026

Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway

Berklee Alums Bring GIANT to Broadway Brian and Dayna Lee BM '13 met and fell in love at Berklee, and now their production companys first Broadway debut i...

26/03/2026

Audio-Technica and Extron Announce Microsoft Teams-Certified Enterprise Solutions

Extron and Audio-Technica have announced that their Design Solutions devices, Ce...

26/03/2026

SPORTEL Asia Returns to Singapore with 370 Participants from 35 Countries

SPORTEL Asia took place March 24-25 at the Orchard Hotel Singapore, drawing 370 participants representing more than 220 companies from 35 countries. Approximate...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: LTN to Showcase Satellite-to-IP Migration Solutions

LTN will demonstrate satellite-to-IP migration solutions for broadcasters, cable networks, MVPDs, and station groups at NAB Show 2026 (Booth W2100). The C-Ban...

26/03/2026

Seattle Mariners Upgrade Center Field Video Display at T-Mobile Park with Daktronics

The Seattle Mariners have partnered with Daktronics to install an upgraded outfi...

26/03/2026

Esports Nations Cup 2026 Names National Team Partners Across 100+ Countries

The Esports Foundation (EF) has awarded National Team Partner status to organizations and individuals across more than 100 countries and territories for the Esp...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: Telestream Expands Vantage Integration with Adobe Premiere, Media Encoder, and Frame.io

Telestream has announced expanded integration between its Vantage workflow platf...

26/03/2026

NAB 2026: FOR-A Brings Nippon TV's viztrick AiDi AI Production Tool to Market with NVIDIA

FOR-A Corporation has announced a partnership with Nippon TV and NVIDIA to distr...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Reaches New Long-Term Multiplatform Rights Agreement with the WNBA

CBS Sports and the WNBA have expanded their partnership through a new long-term, multiplatform rights agreement. CBS Sports will feature up to 20 regular-season...

26/03/2026

Zac Brown Band to Perform Sunday Night Baseball Open on NBC and Peacock

Zac Brown Band will star in the Sunday Night Baseball show open on NBC and Peacock, NBC Sports announced. The open was filmed at American Family Field, home of ...

26/03/2026

2026 MLB Season Opens With Full Slate of National Games

Major League Baseball opens the 2026 season with nationally televised games across multiple media partners. Fans can visit MLB.com/Watch for a complete schedule...

26/03/2026

DIRECTV Adds Nine MLB Team Channels for 2026 Season

DIRECTV has announced an agreement to carry nine new MLB-operated team channels, covering the Cincinnati Reds, Detroit Tigers (Detroit SportsNet), Kansas City R...

26/03/2026

Nationals.TV Now Available on Charter, Comcast, Cox, DIRECTV, Verizon Fios and More

Nationals.TV, the Washington Nationals' local broadcast channel, is now avai...

26/03/2026

MLB.TV Launches on the ESPN App Starting Opening Day

Starting Thursday, March 26, MLB.TV will be available on the ESPN App, giving fans access to more than 2,000 out-of-market regular season games. Fans can also r...

26/03/2026

What's Next for Spotify and NAVER in Korea After a Stockholm Summit

Spotify's partnership with NAVER, Korea's leading digital platform, is built around one simple goal: making it easier for listeners in Korea to discover...

26/03/2026

EastWest DrumX: Early access

Exclusive to ComposerCloud for first month Sample library and virtual instrument gurus EastWest have announced the upcoming release of a new virtual drum i...

26/03/2026

Dynamic Range Day 2026

Friday 27 March Friday 27 March will mark Dynamic Range Day 2026, the annual day of online activity that was started in 2010 by mastering engineer Ian Sheph...

26/03/2026

ASMR Choir from SRM Sounds

Includes four separate instruments Max Richter's SRM Sounds venture have just announced their fifth release, ASMR Choir. Captured at the main live room ...

26/03/2026

IMPORTANT FEEDBACK: PESP 6

The National Film and Video Foundation (NFVF), an agency of the Department of Sport, Arts and Culture (DSAC), has been tasked with administering the Sixth Presi...

26/03/2026

Why YEP Changed My Career (And Why It Might Change Yours)

By Matt Klein Hello to everyone reading this - whether you're a current YEP, HPA member, or just YEP-curious. I'm Matt Klein, one of the co-chairs of t...

26/03/2026

CBS Sports Inks New WNBA Deal

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Apogee Insight Acquires PMA Research

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

NBC Announces Exclusive Coverage of Sail4th 250 Tall Ships in NYC

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

UK Group of media tech companies take the spotlight at NA...

28 participating companies, from start-ups to blue-chips, lead the UK Group as part of the GREAT Britain and Northern Ireland presence across all the Halls at N...

26/03/2026

Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026

Arkona Unveils BLADE//planner and Major Usability Enhancements at NAB 2026 Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments New graphical configuration tool and...

26/03/2026

Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026

Bitfocus showcases complete control at NAB Show 2026 Brie Clayton March 26, 2026 0 Comments Continuing development drives advances in security, availa...

26/03/2026

Allen Media Group To Deploy Anoki ContextIQ

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

LG Announces New Premium FAST Channels

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

IABM to Host Breakfast Event at 2026 NAB Show

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Nexstar Defends Tegna Deal in Calif. Court Filing

Share Copy link Facebook X Linkedin Bluesky Email...

26/03/2026

Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast control capability

Nevion introduces powerful new Panel Builder to enhance VideoIPath broadcast con...