Italian authorities have successfully dismantled a large-scale piracy network centered on the CINEMAGOAL application, which provided unauthorized access to premium streaming platforms. The operation, codenamed "All Clear" and led by the Ravenna Financial Police under the Bologna Public Prosecutor's Office, involved coordinated actions across Italy, France, and Germany with over 200 officers executing more than 100 warrants. The investigation began through social media monitoring and revealed a sophisticated piracy model that differs significantly from traditional IPTV-based systems.
The CINEMAGOAL application enabled users to access paid content from Sky, DAZN, Netflix, Disney+, and Spotify through a distributed infrastructure of virtual machines deployed across multiple regions. These systems operated continuously, capturing legitimate subscription authentication codes every three minutes from accounts registered under fictitious identities. The captured credentials were then retransmitted to end users in near real-time as decrypted streams, effectively bypassing platform-level DRM protections while maintaining high-quality streaming. The system also anonymized users by removing the need for direct IP association, making detection by platform security mechanisms significantly more difficult.
Authorities identified over 70 individuals responsible for distributing access to the illicit service across Italy. These distributors marketed the application as a secure, undetectable solution, charging annual subscription fees ranging from €40 to €130 depending on service packages. Payments were typically conducted using untraceable methods, including cryptocurrency transactions and transfers to foreign or fictitious bank accounts, with a portion of proceeds funneled back to core operators managing the infrastructure. In coordination with Eurojust, authorities seized servers located abroad containing critical data used to decrypt protected content, as well as the CINEMAGOAL application source code.
Preliminary estimates suggest the piracy network caused approximately €300 million in damages to affected streaming platforms through lost subscription revenue. Investigators also confirmed the parallel use of traditional "pezzotto" IPTV systems, indicating a hybrid piracy ecosystem combining legacy and advanced techniques. Authorities have already identified the first 1,000 users, who now face administrative fines ranging from €154 to €5,000.
Charges under investigation include audiovisual piracy, unauthorized access to computer systems, and computer fraud. Further forensic analysis of seized devices and infrastructure is ongoing and expected to identify additional participants, including end users and financial beneficiaries. The case remains under preliminary investigation, and any criminal liability will be determined following judicial proceedings in accordance with due process.
Source: https://cybersecuritynews.com/italian-authorities-dismantled-cinemagoal/