In a surprising twist, the website of a regional police station in the United Kingdom has been transformed into a platform offering pirated live sports streams.
Video piracy reached record highs in 2023. Figures for this activity reveal a mixed landscape, with an increase in some countries and a decline in others. These developments illustrate the increasing complexity of the phenomenon.
Several anti-piracy associations are calling on the authorities to close IPTV services broadcasting illegal sport, based on a list of services to be eradicated. But while in the United Kingdom, British police forces are stepping up their efforts against illegal streamingironically, the website of one of their regional police stations started to broadcast sports matches illegally.
The website of this police station has been transformed into an illegal streaming platform
As regional police forces in the UK step up their efforts against illegal streaming piracy, the actual effectiveness of these measures remains unclear. However, the services have collaborated with organized crime units and entities like the Premier League. Recent access to information requests aimed at clarify the extent of punitive actions for viewing or distributing pirated content have hit a wall. Police services argue that there is a lack of an adequate reporting system and that high cost what is required to carry out such a task.
Paradoxically, in the midst of this IT opacity, a site belonging to the Avon & Somerset police, still in the United Kingdom, was hijacked to broadcast illegal sports streams on January 26. The site broadcast football matchesrugby and cricket in high quality and were accessible without any fees. They were broadcast via an IPTV streaming service called “IPTV Smarters Pro” via the “opcc-maintenance” section.
Authorities were alerted to the situation by a citizen who reported that the police station site was being used to illegally broadcast sports matches. Police quickly took steps to secure the website and said they were investigating the incident and would take steps to ensure it doesn’t happen again. This hijacking highlights the security challenges authorities face in the fight against online piracy, exposing the vulnerability of digital infrastructure even within law enforcement institutions.
Source: torrentfreak