US racks up about 400 wins over illegal World Cup streaming sites
Just in time for the World Cup’s “knockout” round, the U.S. government announced the seizure of hundreds of internet domains that were illegally streaming broadcasts of matches.
Nearly 400 sites were taken down, the Department of Justice said in a news release Friday. Authorities noted that unauthorized streaming presents other dangers beyond intellectual property theft.
“These streamers not only violate copyright laws but also expose viewers to potential threats — including malware attacks and unsecure connections that can compromise personal and financial data,” said Eric Weindorf, special agent in charge of the Washington field office of Homeland Security Investigations (HSI).
The World Cup’s organizing body, FIFA, helped identify the domains, the DOJ said, along with the help of U.S. broadcaster NBC Universal and other entities.
HSI — part of the Department of Homeland Security — and the the International Computer Hacking and Intellectual Property (ICHIP) Network of U.S. prosecutors coordinated the operation.
“Servers and domains linked to illegal streaming of World Cup games were targeted in Peru and Bulgaria, two known centers of online piracy activity,” the DOJ said. “Additional ICHIP-supported disruptions took place in Croatia, Romania, Poland and Colombia.”
HSI led a similar operation to seize more than 70 sites for the 2022 World Cup.
World Cup knockout stage games began on Sunday, with Canada scoring a late goal to eliminate South Africa.
Pirated sports streams are typically available through Internet Protocol Television (IPTV). Authorities have targeted large illicit operations such as Streameast and 247TVStream in recent years. Investigations have shown that illegal streaming can bring in millions of dollars.
References in this story
- United States Seizes Hundreds of Internet Domains Used to Illegally Stream World Cup Matches www.justice.gov The Department of Justice announced today the seizure of nearly 400 sites that were engaged in the unauthorized streaming of matches in the FIFA World Cup Finals in violation of U.S. copyright law.
- Archived: HSI Baltimore seizes another 23 websites that violated copyrights by illegally live streaming World Cup… www.ice.gov Special agents from Homeland Security Investigations (HSI) Baltimore Field Office seized 23 separate internet domains Friday for allegedly live streaming World Cup matches, an infringement of the Fédération…
- Canada beats South Africa 1-0 in World Cup's first knockout match on Stephen Eustáquio's late goal apnews.com Stephen Eustáquio scored in the second minute of second-half stoppage time, and Canada beat South Africa 1-0 for its first knockout match victory in a World Cup.
- Two arrested in Egypt as authorities take down Streameast sports piracy platform therecord.media A trade group for media giants said it worked with Egyptian authorities to shut down Streameast, a website known for pirating broadcasts of major sports leagues.
- Two brothers indicted for operating illegal sports streaming service that netted $7 million therecord.media An indictment unsealed Tuesday charged two brothers with several crimes related to their management of 247TVStream — an online subscription-based service that let users stream live sports and television shows.
- 11 arrested in Europol shutdown of illegal IPTV streaming networks therecord.media In the takedown announced on Wednesday, Europol said it investigated 102 suspects and arrested 11 of them on accusations they were distributing content from streaming services illegally.
- International operation traces $55 million crypto trail of digital piracy sites therecord.media Thirty investigators from 15 countries took part in the five-day crackdown earlier this month targeting 69 digital piracy sites, including 25 illegal streaming services whose information was referred to cryptocurrency…
- Advanced Cyber Threat Intelligence | Recorded Future www.recordedfuture.com Get real-time, actionable cyber threat intelligence with Recorded Future. Mitigate cyber risks, prioritize threats, and proactively secure your business.
- Joe Warminsky (@jwarminsky.bsky.social) bsky.app News Editor at The Record: @therecordmedia.bsky.social [ Tired of bios ] [ Often thinking about music ] [ Etc. ]
