Video Pirates Showing Increased Professionalism, Irdeto Says

Increased professionalism of video pirates means consumers sometimes don't realize they bought illicit streaming devices, Irdeto Senior Director-Cyber Services and Investigations Mark Mulready blogged Thursday. He said Rokus, Amazon Firesticks and Kodis have been popular devices for pirates, and Android TVs are gaining traction, with all those boxes' open nature helping in designing and installing illegal applications or add-ons. Pirates employ "slick looking websites" with access to legions of channels and movie titles with full support, some offering money-back guarantees, Mulready said: Such sites increasingly are moving from annual subscriptions to six-month offers allowing them to amend prices more regularly and ensure regular touch points with customers.