Man Arrested/Charged for Satellite Piracy

[cyberham]

We should publicize this. Most on this board understand that piracy damages the FTA activity that we enjoy. Click here to read the story.

 

[papabruski]

There is nothing in the article to suggest that the perp was using modified FTA equipment to pirate the signals and I would hope that is not the case.

 

[Dishman Dan]

The article does not specifically say that he was stealing TV. It says "Along with equipment that can steal satellite signals, police also seized uncertified wireless security cameras that can interfere with aircraft frequencies." So was he actually stealing satellite signals or interfering with aircraft freqs is what got him in trouble?

 

[KE4EST]

Yeah that is what I couldn't figure out. What actually brought attention to him.

 

[navychop]

Neighbors, my guess.

 

[Babadem]

The article does not specifically say that he was stealing TV. It says "Along with equipment that can steal satellite signals, police also seized uncertified wireless security cameras that can interfere with aircraft frequencies." So was he actually stealing satellite signals or interfering with aircraft freqs is what got him in trouble?

Along with equipment that can steal satellite signals, police also seized uncertified wireless security cameras that can interfere with aircraft frequencies.
"The signal that they're using contravenes a frequency that's reserved for aeronautical navigation and actually could pose a threat to public safety," Cpl. Miles Hiebert told CBC News on Friday.

I think he was arrested for both offenses, especially for the latter.

 

[Babadem]

Neighbors, my guess.

That could also be true.

 

[brex2001]

"RCMP say they executed search warrants on Wednesday, raiding a home on Lodge Avenue and a business on St. Mary's Road."

Could it have been what he was selling out of the business that attracted attention?

 

[cyberham]

Another article reporting the same event is here.
This article states: "The receivers were modified in a fashion that would enable them to receive a pay TV signal without being a paid subscriber,” said RCMP spokesman Cpl. Miles Hiebert."

 

[turbosat]

They went whole-hog on that guy, didn't they? I wonder if he ever spat on the sidewalk anywhere....

 

[Dishman Dan]

Could it have been what he was selling out of the business that attracted attention?

BINGO!

 

[Tron]

We must be careful about governments which decide that they can sieze equipment and/or charge individuals simply for owning equipment that CAN BE used for illegal purposes. If he was, in fact, using the equipment for such purposes, that is a different matter. Nearly all FTA receivers are capable of being used to decode scrambled signals without authorization.

 

[empiretc]

It would be sad if..........


This person got a large stock of old sonicview/digiwave/etc... receivers for his legal FTA shop, and the only stable firmware he could find for the receivers was from the dark side.

In the articles, the cameras seemed coincidental. Uncertified.....from china.

 

[rogerduncan100]

So was he key-sharing or is there some other way?

 

[eurosport]

So was he key-sharing or is there some other way?

Really doesn't matter. Signal theft is stealing, no matter how he did it.

 

[rogerduncan100]

Encryption is an Interesting Subject

Encryption is an interesting subject.

Nearly all of us do our banking online and aren't concerned about having our communication with the bank intercepted in real time. I think that's because the encryption algorithm provides a very secure connection. No other computer can figure out the code very quickly.

I would guess that satellite signal encryption uses the same principles. If the key code is being changed continually either via an internet connection or directly through the satellite signal then no other computer can figure out the code.

A few years ago when the North American satellite pay-TV providers upgraded their encryption we all know that the market for FTA receivers was flooded by pirates trying to sell their newly useless pirate hardware.

It seems to me the pay-TV providers have adopted encryption systems that are pretty much 100% unhackable because key codes are updated continuously. It's just like internet encryption for banking online.

 

[rogerduncan100]

Well they're hackable but only with a real time internet connection so your unique IP address is stamped all over it. It's OK if you want to get caught, I guess.

 

[pwrsurge]

So was he key-sharing or is there some other way?

They were running a private key sharing service for their customers. Most if not all of the 144 receivers seized were subscribed to a provider each sharing the keys for one of their channels. Customers would have been paying something like $20 per month or less for a lineup of channels which would normally cost $60+ / month with a legitimate subscription.

 

[cyberham]

Is there still anybody with misplaced sympathy thinking he might have been innocently and unknowingly breaking the law?

 

[toucan-man]

Do you want that we all chip in and send him a get well card?