End clap for one of the biggest IPTV networks in Europe.
Italian authorities say they have taken down a huge IPTV network. The service served 500,000 subscribers. In all, twenty suspects are suspected of violating copyright law.
The operation also made it possible to identify the administrator of CyberGroup. It is one of the largest IPTV networks in Europe.
An extensive investigation
According to a statement from the Milan prosecutor’s office, agents of the Guardia di Finanza executed warrants throughout Italy on Wednesday to dismantle a very large pirate IPTV network.
In 2020, Italian authorities revealed the existence of “Operation: The Net”, a wide-ranging investigation targeting the supply and sale of pirate IPTV services. The first interventions took place in September 2020 and in December of the same year. In their press release, the authorities say they have carried out searches in Tuscany, Emilia-Romagna, Campania and Calabria.
Illegal viewing and copyright infringement
In total, the baptized operation led to the closure of 500,000 accounts throughout Italy and searches of 20 people’s homes. These suspects are being investigated for copyright infringement.
Italian authorities describe the network as “sophisticated”. Thus, it would work thanks to a “complex technological infrastructure” operating at the national level to illegally provide pay television channels to the public at the national level.
According to estimates by Fiamme Gialle, more than 2 million Italian users illegally access TV programs from Sky, Dazn and Prime Video. Serie A and the Champions League are the most pirated content.
End of service for CyberGroup
The operation succeeded in arresting the administrator of the platform called CyberGroup. This service was known in the pirate IPTV world for offering illegal streaming access from other platforms. Authorities have also identified another entity. The latter managed the payment of pirate subscriptions to Sky TV.
Users with access to all programming from Netflix, Sky and Dazn. And this, for the sum of ten euros per month.
Closure of 500,000 accounts
According to a judgment of the Court of Cassation, the use of illegal IPTV can be subject to a fine ranging from approximately 2,582 to 25,822 euros. And this, with the additional risk of a prison sentence ranging from 6 months to 3 years.
In the context of this operation, for the moment, the only sanction would be the simultaneous closure of the accounts thanks to the dismantling of the Cybergroup.
