Piracy
Abandoned Popcorn Time app exposed millions of devices to RCE attacks
Researchers remotely disabled a vulnerable updater in the abandoned Time4Popcorn app, a fork of the Popcorn Time BitTorrent client, closing a security flaw that could have allowed attackers to execute malicious code with elevated privileges on millions of computers. The vulnerability, tracked as CVE-2026-30612, affects Windows and macOS updaters that contacted the app’s abandoned domain […]
68-year-old imprisoned after making $1.3 million by pirating IPTV services
A 68-year-old has been sentenced in the U.K. to more than six years in prison for operating an illegal IPTV (Internet Protocol Television) service that generated £980,812 ($1.3 million) over three years. An investigation by the Police Intellectual Property Crime Unit (PIPCU) at the City of London Police found that Milan Ibrahim ran a “sophisticated […]
US seizes over 1,000 websites in FIFA World Cup piracy crackdown
The U.S. Justice Department has seized more than 1,000 websites and blocked 1,970 domains used to stream FIFA World Cup 2026 matches without authorization. Law enforcement authorities identified the seized domains using leads provided by U.S. authorities, FIFA (Fédération Internationale de Football Association), the Motion Picture Association’s Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE), and multiple […]
Vietnam arrests suspects behind HiAnime anime piracy service
Vietnamese authorities have arrested and are prosecuting seven suspects believed to have run HiAnime, the largest anime piracy streaming service before its shutdown in June. HiAnime provided access to a massive library of English-subbed and dubbed anime without subscription fees, attracting several hundred million visitors each month and temporarily surpassing legal streaming platforms like Disney+ and Crunchyroll […]
US seizes hundreds of FIFA World Cup illegal streaming domains
The U.S. Justice Department’s Criminal Division has seized nearly 400 web domains used for illegally streaming matches at the FIFA World Cup. These websites provided visitors with unauthorized real-time streams of 2026 World Cup matches, in violation of U.S. copyright law. The action was coordinated with international partners through the International Computer Hacking and Intellectual […]
PirloTV sports piracy network disrupted as 44 domains seized
A major sports piracy ring linked to the illegal PirloTV streaming platform has been disrupted in an action that targeted 44 domains. PirloTV is a network of websites that aggregate and embed links to unauthorized live sports streams, primarily soccer, replaying feeds from various licensed broadcasters, depending on the event. The platform, which does not […]
Italy disrupts CINEMAGOAL piracy app that stole streaming auth codes
Italian authorities have dismantled a piracy ecosystem centered around the CINEMAGOAL app that provided access to various streaming platforms, including Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify. Unlike typical IPTV service providers that openly market themselves online and expose their operations, CINEMAGOAL’s approach was stealthier, as it used an app that customers installed on their devices. During the […]
Spain dismantles major $4.7M manga piracy platform, arrests four
The Spanish police have dismantled what they claim is the largest Spanish-language manga piracy platform, operating since 2014 and serving millions of monthly users worldwide. Manga is the Japanese term for comics and graphic novels, typically referring to those created in Japan and widely read around the world. The manga piracy platform, which wasn’t named in […]
Anti-piracy coalition takes down AnimePlay app with 5 million users
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) announced the shutdown of AnimePlay, a major anime streaming platform with over 5 million users. Backed by more than 50 major television networks and film studios, including Disney, Paramount, Sony Pictures, Warner Bros, Netflix, and Universal Pictures, ACE focuses on taking down illegal streaming services through civil litigation, […]
Spain orders NordVPN, ProtonVPN to block LaLiga piracy sites
A Spanish court has granted precautionary measures against NordVPN and ProtonVPN, ordering the two popular VPN providers to block 16 websites that facilitate piracy of football matches. The restrictions will apply to a dynamic list of IP addresses in Spain, and there will be no opportunity for appeals. The measures were taken ‘inaudita parte’, meaning that the […]