Advanced Television

Sky Italia piracy network busted

March 8, 2012

From Branislav Pekic in Rome

Italy’s Financial Police (Guardia di Finanza) has uncovered a network of illegal reception of pay-TV platform Sky Italia, with 26 people denounced for “alleged fraud” following an investigation.

Police in Vallo della Lucania near Salerno were able to trace the scam, carried out throughout most of Italy, which allowed, via single pay-TV subscription and an Internet connection, unauthorised reception of all Sky Italia’s encrypted channels.
The pirates (‘card servers’) channelled the access codes to a separate server and successively encrypted them, before diffusing them via an Internet connection to many end users (‘card clients’) connected to them, who were able to watch the pay-TV channels for free, thanks to use of dedicated decoders.

The investigation also identified four people in charge, operating in the Campania and Basilicata regions, who ensured the continuous updating of the encryption codes, allowing the viewing of Sky channels in all users connected. The 26 people will have to answer for alleged fraud.

In addition, computer equipment was seized during the raids, consisting of personal computers and decoders used for the scam, which helped to prevent a further 50 account holders from receiving the encryption codes.

Categories: Articles, Content, Pay TV, Piracy