Freely-available Linux-based decoders are being used to illicitly view MultiChoice's top-end bouquet, with end-users paying as little as a sixth of the usual cost to receive more than 80 channels.
MultiChoice, through DStv, offers its Premium bouquet for R559 a month, according to its Web site. The service offers more than 80 video channels, three interactive services, 32 radio and 40 DMX channels.
However, in limited areas around the country, unscrupulous syndicates are selling the service for as little as R100 a month through a Linux-based decoder called a Dreambox. Recently, two Cape-based syndicates were bust for circumventing the broadcaster, and five people were arrested.
A senior level MultiChoice employee says two syndicates, operating around the Cape Town area, were sharing smart cards, and then illegally selling MultiChoice services for a fraction of the price.
The staff member cannot be named for fear of reprisal from the syndicates, which are often involved in far more serious crimes such as hijacking and murder.
The syndicate members were arrested for contravening the Electronics Communications and Transactions (ECT) Act as they were pirating content. It is not clear whether they have been charged yet. More than 47 Deamboxes were confiscated in the two separate raids in the Cape Town area.
In your dreams
The syndicates' Dreambox decoders were programmed to fetch a decryption key, which had been published on the Internet. These boxes are then sold to consumers, who “rent” MultiChoice's full bouquet at the discounted price, the company staff member explains.
Dream Multimedia manufactures the range of Linux-based decoders that are used to pick up satellite, terrestrial and cable broadcast. The boxes seem to be freely available on the Internet and retail for between R900 and R2 400 each.
However, these decoders are not supported by MultiChoice and using them to illicitly intercept encrypted broadcast opens viewers up to the possibility of being charged under the ECT Act, says the staff member.
Under the Act, people found guilty of illicitly intercepting data can be fined, or jailed for up to five years.
Almost 250 people were making use of the service through the syndicates, which was being sold for about R100 for the full bouquet, which retails legitimately for about R600 a month, says the employee.
Open secret
MultiChoice says these operations are often small in scale, but are a challenge for broadcasters globally as companies must invest to stay a step ahead of pirates. “They create their own business; they steal the content and then charge for it.”
ITWeb found several online forums discussing how to use Dreamboxes and locate keys to unlock MultiChoice's signal. One, dating back to 2006, suggested that members discuss cracking keys over private messaging, and not in an open forum.
MultiChoice monitors the syndicates and waits for them to reach a level of scale before busting them, says the staff member. He says if this sort of practice reached great scale, it would hurt the company from a revenue point of view.
The employee says the broadcaster has “ways and means” of tracking down these syndicates, although he could not share that information for fear of compromising future stings.
This is MultiChoice's first operation related to card-sharing, notes the staff member. He says, over the years, the company has bust other syndicates for stealing content. “You need to be one step ahead of the pirates.”
MultiChoice started rolling out paired decoders, which will only work in conjunction with a specific smart card, about three years ago, he explains. “You never know what a pirate will come up with.”
So far, about 3.5 million paired decoders, amounting to about half its base, have been rolled out as the boxes break and need replacing. The syndicates are targeting the legacy base of set-top boxes, says the senior staff member.
Share
