Law enforcement arrests 29 in crackdown on illegal streaming operations

European and international law enforcement agencies have dismantled nine organized crime groups and arrested 29 suspects in a major crackdown on illegal streaming operations. The seven-month "Operation KRATOS 2" was coordinated by Bulgaria with Europol's support and involved authorities from 13 countries, including Belgium, Bulgaria, Croatia, France, Greece, Ireland, Italy, the Netherlands, Poland, Romania, Spain, the United Kingdom, and the United States. Cooperation with private sector partners also helped investigators identify over 18,000 IP addresses associated with illegal services and 4,370 domains linked to piracy, based on information published by Bleeping Computer.

The operation successfully led to the removal of more than 27,000 illegal streaming URLs distributing copyrighted sports, film, and television content. Law enforcement identified 86 suspects, conducted 148 house searches, and initiated 72 criminal investigations. Europol noted that criminal groups deliberately separate customer-facing websites from content servers to operate across multiple jurisdictions. This approach allowed authorities to gather intelligence on organized crime groups and identify key suspects.

Beyond generating revenue, these illegal services pose significant cybersecurity risks to users, including malware infections, spyware, and data theft. This action follows previous operations like "Operation KRATOS" and "Operation Switch Off," which also targeted illegal streaming networks and IPTV services, highlighting ongoing international efforts to combat digital piracy and its associated criminal activities.

Source: Bleeping Computer