MultiChoice nabs another alleged Waka piracy TV reseller in Worcester

by Thinus Ferreira

Irdeto, MultiChoice's security company - together with the Western Cape Provincial Commercial Crime Investigation Unit - have raided and arrested another alleged Waka piracy TV reseller in Worcester.

MultiChoice nabbed a man suspected of allegedly selling smart TV boxes, pre-installed with applications that give unauthorised access to DStv content. 

The police confiscated a Huawei P20 mobile phone, a USB, as well as 12 Smart TV boxes. The man is allegedly a Waka TV reseller.

"Our collaborative approach with law enforcement agencies across the continent is yielding positive results in our ongoing fight against piracy," says Frikkie Jonker, Irdeto broadcasting cybersecurity and anti-piracy director.

"We are not holding back, and we will ensure that we do everything possible to stop piracy and protect intellectual rights of content creators in Africa."

ALSO READ: Pirate Waka TV wacked with another arrest as MultiChoice promises 'more raids on illegal resellers'.

Pirate Waka TV wacked with another arrest as MultiChoice promises 'more raids on illegal resellers'.

by Thinus Ferreira

Another alleged pirate involved with the illegal streaming service Waka TV was arrested on Friday as part of a nationwide crackdown on internet streaming piracy in South Africa by the police and MultiChoice's anti-piracy department.

The person arrested on Friday in connection with the broader Waka TV piracy network, allegedly provided an illegal internet streaming device giving unauthorised access to SuperSport content.

In June MultiChoice and the police did a sting of the illegal Waka TV piracy network that the pay-TV operator said led "to the arrest "of a key suspect involved in one of the most extensive pirate operations in Africa".

Friday's suspect was arrested in Germiston on charges of theft, fraud, money laundering, and violations of South Africa's Cyber Crime Act 19 of 2021.

MultiChoice says the suspect has been identified as an alleged reseller connected to Waka TV, "one of the most notorious piracy rings currently operating across Africa".

"During the operation, the authorities seized various items, including an alleged illicit streaming device, banners advertising unauthorised sales of DStv Premium content, and a mobile phone containing the contact details of several individuals who allegedly paid for the illegal service."

The police also uncovered detailed financial records linking the suspect to another high-profile target. Investigators have now broadened the scope of the investigation, with authorities expecting further arrests related to this network."

The suspect has appeared in court with a bail hearing set for 16 September.

Frikkie Jonker, the director of broadcasting cybersecurity and anti-piracy at the MultiChoice-owned Irdeto, says more raids on resellers and outlets linked to Waka TV are imminent "as law enforcement intensifies efforts to dismantle the sprawling piracy operation".

"Friday's arrest marks another significant step in our ongoing battle against digital piracy in South Africa. We are actively tracking additional targets connected to Waka TV, and the message is clear: Those participating in this illegal network will be brought to justice," Jonker said.

HBO's House of the Dragon season 2 finale leaks online.

by Thinus Ferreira

Thirty minutes in clips of the upcoming second season finale of HBO's House of the Dragon seen on M-Net (DStv 101) and MultiChoice's Showmax leaked online Tuesday night in yet another damaging blow for the Westeros-set TV franchise.

Tuesday night's leak that saw several clips - a half hour of content - from the upcoming 8th episode of the second season of House of the Dragon end up across social media, is yet another damaging leak for HBO that has been unable to prevent ongoing content leaks from both the latter parts of Game of Thrones, as well as spin-off House of the Dragon.

According to Comicbook.com Tuesday night's leak started on a TikTok account - blocked hours later but too late for Warner Bros. Discovery to prevent the content's spreading virally - where 14 clips were uploaded with over half watched over 100 000 times.

From TikTok the various clips were shared to both other TikTok accounts and also to X, formerly known as Twitter. Clips also ended up on Reddit.

HBO has struggled with multiple leaks over the past few years. 

In 2017, an episode from the 7th season of Game of Thrones was leaked and watched beforehand when it ended up on illegal torrent sites. Then multiple episodes from the 8th season kept leaking before broadcast.

In August 2022 the debut episode of House of the Dragon leaked online before broadcast of the spinoff series even started. Just a few months later in October the entire first season finale of House of the Dragon leaked on illegal torrent sites as well.

Game of Thrones was the most-pirated TV show of the year globally, for several years.

Africa piracy: Limitless demand for cheap content

Frikkie Jonker, director of broadcast cybersecurity and anti-piracy at Irdeto, a partner of MultiChoice Africa, on Tuesday said content piracy "is a type of global organised crime that undermines the creative sector. However, what is not often discussed is what drives content piracy. What leads people to steal content?"

MultiChoice has ramped up its efforts in tracking, raiding and prosecuting TV pirates over the past months, with more arrests to follow.

"African authorities are doing a heroic job fighting cybercrime and content piracy. There have been huge successes in the prosecution of content piracy operations," he says.

"To understand why Africa becomes a target for piracy, it is useful to look at things from the perspective of a global criminal syndicate. They will often follow the path of least resistance – and for better or worse, Africa is attractive territory."

"When it comes to content piracy, Africa has low barriers to entry and an almost limitless demand for cheap content," Jonker explains.

"In terms of penetration success – circumventing cybersecurity measures – they may achieve a success rate of 70%, which compares favourably with other territories. This – coupled with Africa's billion-strong population – is a key supply driver of content piracy."

Jonker says "where there are few consequences, the barriers to using stolen content are so much lower".

"Government attitudes, too, are critically important. Where a government sees content piracy as an insignificant issue, they are allowing the sabotage of their own country's creative and entertainment sector."

"But there are further impacts: When leading content businesses consider entering the African market, they need the reassurance that their content rights will be protected. Where a country is unable to provide such guarantees, the investments do not materialise."

"In the United Kingdom, for example, police recently arrested as many as 2 000 people who were illegally viewing streams of English Premier League (EPL) football matches. Similar cases are being pursued in Africa."

According to Jonker "Many people believe they simply cannot afford to pay for content. Entertainment often takes a back seat behind the need to put food on the table."

"To some extent, premium content is a luxury, so one can understand this perception. However, pricing innovation by content platforms has led to entertainment packages at almost every price point. Financial difficulty is no longer an excuse for content piracy."

"A content sector such as pay-TV has extremely tight margins. Up to 80% of revenue generated goes into producing and securing content. Given these margins, any content theft threatens the viability of the entire industry."

"Major productions across Africa – in Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya, Tanzania, Mozambique, and many other countries – sustain thousands of jobs in production, performance, set and costume design, all the way through to catering, transport and accommodation. The war on piracy is a war to protect these jobs."

Three Egyptian content pirates sentenced to a 2-year jail term as MultiChoice Africa says TV content piracy won't be tolerated.

The digital platform security specialist Irdeto and the pay-TV operator MultiChoice Africa say three Egyptian content pirates have been sentenced in Cairo, Egypt for a 2-year jail term and that TV content piracy in Africa won't be tolerated.

The jail term and a  £75,000 (R1.28 million) fine comes after the three content pirates were found guilty on all charges, that included selling illegal pirate subscriptions, allowing 163 802 pirate viewers access to watch TV content from international broadcasters.

"Engaging in any form of piracy comes with consequences, and this ruling clearly indicates that piracy will not be tolerated," says Frikkie Jonker, general manager of the Africa Piracy department at MultiChoice Africa.

"These convictions are critical to sending a message to the pirate community that piracy is a serious offence that damages the media and entertainment industry."

"Our collaboration with Irdeto and the unbelievable support of the Egyptian enforcement authorities, without whom this would not have been possible, demonstrates the importance of working together to combat the growing problem of piracy."

The initial investigations into suspects began through a partnership between MultiChoice Africa and Irdeto, before a joint criminal investigation, that led to raids that uncovered several electronic components, servers, almost 40 smartcards from multiple conditional access providers, several pirate decoders, smartcard readers and other related equipment.

"These convictions are a testament to the seriousness of the piracy offence and the commitment of law enforcement worldwide to crack down on these cybercrime networks," says Rory O’Connor, Irdeto vice president of cyber security services.

"Our partnership with MultiChoice Africa epitomises our commitment to content owners, rights holders and operators to combat smartcard sharing and other forms of piracy. We will continue to work closely with law enforcement around the globe to shut down criminal pirate networks and ensure that justice is served."

BREAKING. MultiChoice, Irdeto and Botswana police seize 1 800 pirate Magicbox decoders; arrest two in Southern African pirate TV scheme.

The Botswana police have made arrests following a year long investigation run in conjunction with the content security firm Irdeto's anti-piracy and forensic unit and MultiChoice Africa's anti-piracy unit of people who allegedly stole MultiChoice smart card coding and then resold it to pirate viewers who then access and unlock the DStv signal through illegal decoders such as Magicbox.

Two Chinese nationals were arrested in Botswana after an investigation which began in December 2011 and which allegedly skimmed and sold the coding from MultiChoice decoder smart cards to people who then get access to an unencoded pay-TV signal through pirate decoders such as Magicbox, Avatar, Hawk, Microbox and Eagle.

The Chinese nationals used a refrigeration sales and repair company as the front for their alleged illegal piracy television business which spanned Southern Africa and reached into countries such as Malawi, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Zambia and even South Africa.

The Botswana police confiscated 1 800 Magicbox decoders, computers, a smart card reader and cash.

"The raid was very succesful and sent a firm message that this kind of illegal activity will not be tolerated and that strong action will be taken against those who illegally abuse MultiChoice Africa content," says Frikkie Jonker, senior Africa Piracy manager for MultiChoice Africa.

"As long as their are consumer who are prepared to pay for illegal content, pirates will contrinue to try to hack encryption systems and turn a profit," says Irdeto. "One very effective way of addressing this form of piracy is to use technology to disrupt the pirate offering, thereby upsetting the pirate viewer and destroying the pirate credibility."

"Together with MultiChoice Africa, we will relentlessly fight these illegal businesses on the African continent, using technology and the law to its full extent."