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Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) has successfully raided a pirate IPTV provider that had been capturing broadcasters’ content for at least two years. According to authorities, the operation was hidden in a house that had been abandoned for years. Among the 279 items seized were 72 set-top boxes, 72 video encoders, servers, network hardware, bank books and mobile phones. Two suspects were arrested.

A quick look at the blocking data from the Italian Piracy Shield system shows that pirate IPTV servers can operate almost anywhere.

Servers and services linked to Asia regularly appear on the AGCOM list, while platforms from China, Hong Kong and Taiwan cause problems for rights holders around the world.

In China itself, enforcement actions are far fewer than rights holders think, but in Taiwan, raids are reported more often, which probably also benefits foreign rights holders.

IPTV app sold online leads investigators to source

In a report detailing events that culminated last month, Taiwan’s Criminal Investigation Bureau (CIB) said searches on online auction platforms revealed the sale of an app called Qingtian TV/Sunny TV. Like other TV piracy tools, Sunny TV offered live TV streams collected from legitimate broadcasters, bundled into a mobile app.

Organizations and TV companies with interests in the content include Taiwan’s Satellite Radio and Television Business Association and members of Japan-based anti-piracy group CODA, which also includes TV stations TBS, Fuji TV, NTV and TV Asahi. Rights holders estimate that the market value of the content offered on the app was at least Taiwanese dollars (TWD) over a two-year period, about $31.2 million.

Their case was referred to the Taichung District Public Prosecutor’s Office in Taiwan and after an investigation, authorities targeted addresses in Taichung City and Yunlin County early last month.

Suspects rented an empty house

Along with others, one of the two main suspects, identified by CIB by the surname Li, is said to have rented an empty house to do business.

“The appearance of the place was subdued, like a house that had been abandoned for years,” says CIB.

Photographs taken during the raid on the house tell a different story.

Image material: CIB

According to labels found next to the equipment after the seizure, the relatively small units in the red enclosures are cable television receivers, while the units in the black enclosures are marked “signal encoders.”

Image material: CIB

CIB says 72 set-top boxes and 72 signal encoders were seized, along with two servers, two hosts, six network switches, plus nine bank books and several mobile phones. A total of 279 devices and other items were seized as evidence.

Structure of the piracy operation

The CIB report shows that Li and another suspect, identified as Chen, have both been arrested. The latter is suspected of “using various online marketplaces to sell pirated OTT software, and frequently switching accounts to evade police investigation.”

CIB also names two other suspects, but it does not say who they are or what role they played in the operation.

Finally, the law enforcement agency has published a diagram that provides an overview of the IPTV operation; from receiving, capturing and encoding streams for distribution, all the way to consumption by end users. The original slide is in Chinese and our translations here are aimed at representing the original as accurately as possible.

Image material: CIB

It’s no surprise that Cloudflare features prominently in the slide. It seems to be part of a growing trend.

Placing the company’s name and logo within a piracy chain arguably lacks context. However, if informal conversations about how to curb piracy are going nowhere, moving the discussion into the public arena can actually increase the pressure.