Foxtel has welcomed the sentencing of a Sydney man for his role in the selling of unauthorised access to Foxtel services.
Haidar Majid Salam Al Baghdadi, 33 years old, was convicted of criminal offences relating to charges of operating an illegal network that allowed more than 8000 people across Australia to access Foxtel subscription television broadcasts for free. A Sydney court has sentenced Al Baghdadi to serve an 18 month suspended jail term for carrying out the offenses.
The conviction and sentencing are the result of on-going joint antipiracy investigations involving the Australian Federal Police (AFP), Foxtel investigators, and Irdeto, the world leader in digital platform security. The three organisations uncovered an organised criminal network responsible for committing a wide-range of intellectual property theft of Foxtel services.
Foxtel’s CEO, Peter Tonagh, said, “Foxtel welcomes today’s court ruling and hopes it sends a strong signal that this type of activity is illegal. Foxtel takes intellectual property theft very seriously as it severely undermines the creative industry including every business and individual that works so hard to deliver us the movies, sport, drama and entertainment we love.
“Foxtel conducts ongoing investigations into the theft of Foxtel programming and we are proud to work so closely with the AFP and our partners at Irdeto to ensure the full force of the law is applied to protect our content.”
Rory O’Connor, Senior Vice President of Cybersecurity Services at Irdeto, said, “This conviction is another step forward in the global fight against online piracy. The seriousness of these crimes should not be underestimated and this result is further proof that piracy will not be tolerated. Partnerships like this play a crucial role in not only detecting these pirate networks, but ensuring that the perpetrators are brought to justice.”
Foxtel looks forward to continuing work with the rest of the Australian media industry to address the issue of piracy in Australia.
###
About Foxtel
Foxtel is one of Australia’s most progressive and dynamic media companies, directly employing around 2,800 people and delivering a diverse subscription television service over cable, satellite and broadband distribution. Foxtel effortlessly connects Australians to all the stories they love by offering a better entertainment experience every day to more than 2.8 million subscribing homes through delivery of new and inspiring programming across all genres, the world’s most popular channel brands, and investment in high quality local content. As constant champions of innovation we have brought customers the iQ personal digital recorder; Australia’s largest HD channel offering; the Foxtel App for tablets and mobile devices; internet TV service, Foxtel Now; and television, broadband and home phone bundles with Foxtel internet and voice services delivered over Australia’s largest telecommunications network. Foxtel is owned by Telstra Corporation Limited ACN 051 775 556 (50%) and News Corporation (50%).
Irdeto. Building a Secure Future.™
Irdeto is the world leader in digital platform security, protecting platforms and applications for media & entertainment, automotive and IoT connected industries. Our solutions and services enable customers to protect their revenue, create new offerings and fight cybercrime. With nearly 50 years of expertise in security, Irdeto’s software security technology and cyber services protect over 5 billion devices and applications for some of the world’s best known brands. Our unique heritage as a subsidiary of multinational media group Naspers (JSE: NPN) means that we are a well-established and reliable partner to help build a more secure future. Please visit Irdeto at www.irdeto.com.
Media enquiries:
Foxtel
David Sims
david.sims@foxtel.com.au
(02) 9813 7577 / 0409 928 209
Irdeto
Stephen Russell
Stephen.Russell@irdeto.com
+1 774 273 3890