Download - ANTI-PIRACY ENFORCEMENT TOOLBOX
ANTI-PIRACYENFORCEMENT
TOOLBOX
THE 4 ESSENTIALS TO INCLUDE IN
ANY ANTI-PIRACY ENFORCEMENT
TOOLBOX
Would you use a screwdriver to hammer a nail into a wall? Not very
effective. It’s the wrong tool for the job. The same is true in the world
of anti-piracy. You need the right tools and services for the different
threats.
Why is this important?
Online pirates are continually adapting. Unhindered by rules and
regulations pirates move at internet speed. To effectively fight online
piracy means keeping up to date with their latest activities. For
instance, we are seeing a rise in the use of app/plug-ins and devices
such as Kodi, as well as online brand exploitation and increasing levels
of OTT credential theft.
Having the right tools and services will ensure that your anti-piracy
activities are more effective in mitigating the impact of online pirates.
And on top of that, the return on investment from your allocated
budget will be greatly improved.
As there’s no one size fits all approach, the exact combination of
tools and services you need to include in your anti-piracy toolbox will
vary. In this e-book we take you through 4 examples and explain the
essential elements which are needed.
Getting started
Just like you would at home, before starting any major work it’s always
best to get a quote. Understand how extensive the problem is and
what is needed. This is no different for anti-piracy activities.
At the heart of defining your anti-piracy strategy is understanding
the nature and threat that you face. A threat assessment completed
by specialists is often a good place to start. And it is well worth
the investment. By having insight into your specific threat landscape
you’ll know what tools and services would be most applicable for
your situation.
What to include in your toolbox?
No matter the size of the toolbox, there are always the essentials
which can be found in every one. The tools and services which are
just right for the job in hand. Of course, there are others which are
used for more specialized tasks but in general these are the ones
which you can’t function without.
Let’s look at four examples and see what is the recommended tools
and services which best suits your needs.
EXAMPLE ONETO R R E N T S I T E S
Torrent sites are a popular way to download pirated content. There
are many of these sites, but the Pirate Bay is probably the most well-
known. In March 2017, there were 253.8 million visits to the pirate
site. To help customers understand what content is available illegal,
the Irdeto cyber services team constantly monitor such sites. Over
a 12-month period from April 2016, the Irdeto team has witnessed a
171.44% traffic growth for the Top 10 torrent sites.
Key elements in your toolbox here should be latest intelligence
gathering and investigation capabilities to identify the sites as well
as the intermediaries and entities involved in operating those sites.
Integrating watermarking with an online piracy detection service
allows content owners, broadcasters and operators to identify the
source of the leaked content. Once illegal content has been detected,
having the ability to implement enforcement activities is critical.
Enforcement options range from issuing takedown notices, disrupting
the pirate network via the intermediaries concerned: hosting sites,
payment providers and advertisers to civil or criminal action against
the identified pirate parties.
Figure 1: Examples of pirate torrent sites
EXAMPLE TWOL I V E ST R E A M I N G
One of the main drivers is illegal sports streaming. Here, speed is the
name of the game when it comes to fighting online pirates. After
all the value of the sports content is at its highest while it is being
broadcast.
Essential toolbox elements are forensic watermarking to embed a
unique, persistent and invisible mark into your valuable content which
makes it easier to identify, validate and confirm which end user has
distributed your content. Intelligence based detection combined
with a scalable automated platform is important for the rapid
identification of the pirated content. Implementing swift enforcement
actions is critical when it comes to the removal of the sites. The aim
is to redirect illegal viewers to the legitimate broadcaster’s platform
to continue watching the game.
Figure 2: Examples of pirate streaming sites
EXAMPLE THREEI P T V S U P P L I E R
S I T E S
Pirate business models are becoming more sophisticated. Advertising
revenue based stream distribution on the internet has evolved to
selling dedicated pirate OTT devices such as STBs, OTT plugins and
apps with the subscriptions. Pirates are now generating money from
the sale of the pirate devices as well as ongoing subscription revenue.
The challenge is keeping track of the rapidly changing piracy market.
New applications and add-ons are released and updated on a frequent
basis. Data from SimilarWeb shows that the growth in global traffic
resulted in more than 16,460,000 visits per month to the top 100
pirate IPTV supplier websites.
The toolbox elements needed here are latest intelligence gathering
and investigation capabilities. To identify the sites and stay on
top of the evolving piracy landscape market expertise is essential.
Trained investigators are critical to do the research, purchase devices
for technical analysis and covertly interact with the sellers to obtain
the full picture of complicity to understand the nature and scale of
the threat. Once established enforcement options are executed in-
line with the customer’s business policies; this could include civil or
criminal action against the identified pirate parties.
Figure 3: Examples of IPTV streaming sites
EXAMPLE FOURE - CO M M E R C E
S I T E S
According to an extensive search, Irdeto data showed that on one just
one day in March 2017 there are more than 3.97 million advertisements
on e-commerce websites, including Amazon, eBay and Alibaba for
illicit streaming devices.
Tackling the problem of infringing listings is critical when it comes
to stemming the flow of devices to consumers. And it’s encouraging
to see Amazon leading the way with their new preventative policy.
Amazon’s new policy makes it explicit that promoting, facilitating
and enabling infringing or unauthorized access to copyright content
is prohibited from sale on Amazon.
Like the Torrent sites, the essential toolbox elements needed are
the latest intelligence gathering and investigation capabilities
to identify the infringing listings as well as the intermediaries and
entities involved. Enforcement options range from removing the
infringing advertisements to disrupting the pirate network via the
intermediaries concerned - hosting sites, payment providers and
e-commerce websites - to civil or criminal action against the identified
pirate parties.
Figure 4: Examples of pirate advertisting on e-commerce sites
Your toolbox essentials at a glance:
Your toolbox partner
When it comes to selecting a partner to work with you on this, our
advice would be to ensure they have a combination of state of the
art technology and proactive services. For example, worldwide
enforcement and investigative services aimed at identifying and
prosecuting the parties involved in large commercial streaming
piracy networks. Make sure they have a proven security expertise
across the global, not just in one region. After all online piracy is a
highly sophisticated operation that often spans different countries
and jurisdictions.
Of course, you can do this yourself, if you have the capabilities and the
skilled resources. You don’t need to rely on a third party or partner.
Or it might suit you better to use a partner to complement your
existing team to bring in specialist expertise.
Torrent sites Live Streaming IPTV Supplier sites
E-commerce sites
Intelligence based detection
Investigation services
Enforcement activities
Watermarking technology
Online piracy is a growing problem affecting all global pay-TV
operators, content rights holders and consumers. Having the right
tools and services in your toolbox for today and as the pirate landscape
changes is paramount. It is only by keeping up with the changing
dynamics and being able to tackle them effectively that we will be
able to successfully fight online pirates.
About Irdeto:
Irdeto 360 Security is an end-to-end, pre-integrated solution that meets even the most stringent security
requirements, enabling operators and content owners to offer premium media services, such as 4K UHD VOD,
live sports and early release window movies. It provides unparalleled breadth and depth to meet changing
security needs, from content protection, to piracy control and cybercrime prevention, to key management by
a trusted authority. Its proven success comes from the combined power of innovative technology, a diverse
team of experts and a global network to deliver best security practices.
For more information about how the Irdeto Piracy Control and Cybercrime Prevention solutions can help you
in the fight against online piracy, visit the website: www.irdeto.com.
SUMMARY