Pirates keep up TV air raids
Pay-TV stations try to stay one step ahead of pirates by constantly upgrading technology, but pirates are keeping pace with the changes.
In June, pay-TV station HBO Polska managed to gain control over the illegal distribution of counterfeit filters that decoded the station's signal, but now a new problem has emerged. Thousands of pirated cards for digital TV terminals have appeared on the black market. And according to IT specialists, it's relatively easy to manufacture the counterfeit cards. All that pirates need to do is to write a program that decodes the encrypted access code and then combine it with integrated circuits that can be purchased in an electronics store.
Members of Polish Internet news groups regularily exchange tips about the latest decoding software as well as on how to contact dealers of counterfeit cards.
Some examples of news group discussions include, "I'm looking for a pirate card for Cyfra+," and "a producer of digital decoders is a looking for a distributor." Last week, one news group discussed the possibility of Wizja TV changing the coding on its cards starting Dec. 4. "It's only a question of time (before such new encryption is decoded)," read one listing.
Not all of the digital platforms appear worried by the situation.
"Offers on how to make a filter do occur, but such filters are built from parts that cannot be obtained in Poland so it's unlikely that it's really possible to make them," said Aleksander Kutela, managing director of HBO Polska. "You have to be careful before trusting information (on the 'Net)."
Dorota Zawadzka, head of PR at United Pan-Europe Communications' WizjaTV, was also skeptical. "I heard rumors about pirating Wizja's decoders but I have never seen somebody who actually did it or somebody who could provide proof," she said.
But digital platform Cyfra+ recently had first-hand experience of Polish hacker technique. On Oct. 17, Katowice police detained five people who allegedly produced and distributed the cards in Dabrowa Gornicza, Bedzin, Czestochowa, Ruda Slaska, Cieszyn and Myszkow. "We confiscated more than 400 counterfeit cards and 15 computers with software used for decoding," said Alicja Hytrek, press spokeswoman for the Katowice police HQ. "Among those five people were owners of official Cyfra+ dealer offices."
On Oct. 18, Gdansk police detained a producer and dealer of counterfeit cards used for decoding some 200 digital TV programs. "He worked for an official Cyfra+ dealer and has been producing counterfeit cards since 1999," said Gabriela Sikora, spokeswoman for Gdansk's police headquarters. According to Sikora, the counterfeiter had 2,500 buyers, who were regularly provided with updated versions of the cards. The counterfeit cards cost zl. 150, she said.
The monthly subscription fee for Cyfra+ programming packages starts at zl. 43.90 and can run up to zl. 73.90.
"Our experts helped police differentiate between the legal and counterfeit cards," said Malgorzata Babik, head of PR at Canal+. "Recently, we (also) stopped the emission of our signal to holders of counterfeit cards."
Babik said Canal+'s security and monitoring system is changing, and "soon it will be extremely difficult to break."
Meanwhile, according to Canal+'s November newsletter, Cyfra+'s subscriber base dropped by nearly 10% from last June, when it had 293,403 subscribers.
Babik said the decrease has nothing to do with pirates: "The difference results from the fact that we are in the process of putting our database in order."
Other stations are on permanent alert. "Together with the police, we monitor the market and react once there are cases of distribution of counterfeit filters," said HBO's Kutela. "The problem is that in Poland, awareness that piracy is a crime is still low."
