M7 Group cracks piracy ring

Pay TV operator M7 Group and conditional access providers Irdeto and Nagra have successfully cracked a piracy operation in Belgium and the Netherlands, with two individuals being sentenced to 12 months imprisonment, including a six month suspended sentence, in Belgium.

The investigation with local law enforcement officers revealed a control word sharing server and equipment which was used to host content from pay TV brands TV Vlaanderen, TéléSAT and CanalDigitaal on the internet, allowing multiple clients to access pay TV content with only one valid subscription card.

“The imprisonment of these two men sends out a message that people who involve themselves in this kind of crime can be tracked down and will be brought to justice”, said Tom Heremans, attorney of the M7 Group. “M7 will continue to fight piracy with both legal and technical means to prevent the unauthorised use of our copyrights.”