Unprecedented Anti-Piracy Operation in Athens with extensions to many countries!

A milestone date is recorded for Greece in the fight against piracy, as yesterday morning one of the most extensive operations that have been carried out to date took place. For the first time in our country, and one of the few times at the European level, identified and neutralized a source with a massive pirated content sharing infrastructure that was interconnected with many countries around the world.

The infrastructures, which were based in Greece, were a “wholesale hub” for the distribution of pirated content to pirate networks in Ukraine, Morocco, Pakistan, France, the Netherlands and Germany. In short, pirates sold bundles of channels to other pirates to then market to end users of illegal content.

According to information, the servers of this infrastructure were distributing hundreds of thousands of movies, series and sporting events, causing huge financial losses to domestic and international pay-TV providers.

Black Screens on Pirate Networks

The Cybercrime Prosecution operation seems to have caused a stir in the international piracy scene. Immediately after the shutdown of this infrastructure, hacked networks that relied on it show black screens, demonstrating the complexity and interconnections of the circuit.

Thousands of users of pirated subscriptionswho found “premium” prices through illegal channels, they are now faced with the loss of access to their favorite programs and of course with the authorities, after thousands of digital data have been found in the investigationss. Authorities point out that hacking is not only illegal, but also puts users themselves at risk.

The High Prosecution Expertise

The success of the business is the result of masterful business methodology. OR Cybercrime Prosecution combined technological capabilities with thorough operational investigation, crystallizing the profile of the criminal network. The arrest of the ring’s alleged mastermind, a 48-year-old transit station master, highlights the fact that behind such rings can be everyday people with access to critical infrastructure. This business demonstrates that the Cybercrime Prosecution not only has the ability to analyze and detect digital traces, but also to carry out multifaceted actions that lead to the disruption of complex networks. This success exemplifies how collaboration between technology and operational strategies can disrupt organized crime networks. At the same time, it opens the debate about the importance of viewing content legally, as well as the need to raise public awareness about the consequences of piracy.

Greece is proving that it can play a leading role in the fight against piracy, with the Cybercrime Prosecution at the forefront.

According to the official announcements of the Prosecution, the investigations found, among others:

• 11,000- euros

• -119- IPTV receivers,

• -27- hard drives,

• -6- computers,

• external storage medium (USB),

• -2- routers,

• -2- “switches” and

• -2- mobiles.