Month: March 2021

Denuvo brings its gaming anti-tampering technology to the PS5

Middleware promises to protect “fairness and fun” as well as developer revenues.

Denuvo brings its gaming anti-tampering technology to the PS5

Regular readers know the name Denuvo as a once-impenetrable and now-quite-penetrable anti-piracy solution for PC games. Today, though, Denuvo parent company Irdeto announced that Denuvo technology is available to PS5 developers looking for an easy anti-cheat solution for their games.

Console gaming's closed ecosystem is generally less susceptible to the kinds of memory modifications and/or third-party cheating apps that can lead to widespread cheating in many online PC games. And while modern consoles like the Switch have seen widespread hardware hacking that makes game modding relatively simple, the PS5's ecosystem has thus far been resilient to any widely known external attacks (though hackers are already working on breaking in).

Still, Denuvo says its PS5 middleware helps developers "protect sensitive game logic or data, preventing cheaters from changing sensitive variables and ensuring its trustworthiness." That system generally works through a process of obfuscation and encryption, obscuring the true intent of the game's internal procedures to make it harder for hackers to figure out which bits of code affect different parts of the game. Irdeto says this extra layer of security has no effect on a game's performance, a statement supported by Ars' own testing of Denuvo-enabled and Denuvo-free versions of Arkham Knight on PC back in 2019.

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Mobdro Pirate Streaming: Police Arrest Suspect, Three Others Questioned

The European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation reports that police have arrested an individual, following an investigation into Mobdro, one of the most popular pirate streaming apps with an estimated 43 million users. Three other people have been taken in for questioning in Spain and Andorra.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

MobdroOver the past several years, streaming app Mobdro grew to become one of the most significant players in the piracy scene.

As one of the newer breeds of standalone piracy apps, Mobdro grew alongside the likes of Popcorn Time, Showbox and Terrarium TV. With the provision of live TV, sports channels and 24/7 content presented in an easy-to-use interface, Mobdro became a fan-favorite.

In February, however, it became clear that the video streaming tool was suffering serious problems.

Alongside reports that Mobdro was no longer working, there was speculation that Mobdro may have been subjected to law enforcement action. No official confirmation arrived to back up these claims but following a new announcement from Eurojust (European Union Agency for Criminal Justice Cooperation), it is clear that the authorities were involved in the app’s demise.

Major Entertainment Companies File Complaints

According to Eurojust, investigations into Mobdro began back in 2018 following complaints from the Spanish Professional Football League (La Liga), the Premier League, and the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment. The agency says that the main suspect behind Mobdro “used primary domains and servers” to illegally connect to legally operating streaming services, content from which was presented in the Mobdro app.

Eurojust further reports that 43 million users worldwide have downloaded Mobdro to watch unlicensed content, leading to estimated profits of “at least” five million euros for its operators. The two-year investigation is said to have uncovered additional illegal streaming activities too.

Co-ordinated ‘Day of Action’

While the precise date is not revealed by the agency, Eurojust said it recently coordinated an “action day” against Mobdro. This led to the search of four locations and removed the possibility for Mobdro “to be uploaded” via platforms and servers in Spain, Portugal and the Czech Republic.

While the terminology deployed in the news bulletin is somewhat confusing (Mobdro itself can be uploaded easily from anywhere), perhaps the most important issue relates to detentions. One suspect was arrested by Spanish authorities and three others were reportedly taken in for questioning in Spain and Andorra.

European Investigation Orders involving Portugal and the Czech Republic were executed with the assistance of Eurojust, which also helped with a request for Mutual Legal Assistance (MLA) from Andorra.

“Europol provided analytical support to the operation, which was carried out on the ground in Spain by Investigative Court nº 12 of Valencia and the National Police Corps,” a Eurojust statement adds.

“In Portugal, the Department of Criminal Investigation and Prosecution of Lisbon and the Lisbon Judiciary Police Directorate supported the joint action day, with the assistance of the Municipal Public Prosecutor’s Office of Prague and the District Directorate of Police for Prague IV, Department of Analytics and Cybercrime.”

The Investigative Judge of the Specialised Investigation Section number 2 of Andorra and the General Prosecutor Office of Andorra also provided assistance.

Mobdro Fallout

Given its all-in-one nature and range of content, in the short-term Mobdro will be difficult to replace, particularly given the size of its userbase. However, it may well be that Mobdro’s strengths played a key part in its own downfall. Stepping on the toes of the Premier League, La Liga, and the members of the Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (all at once), was never likely to end well.

While Mobdro has been under investigation since 2018, just under two years ago the app featured in a report from the Digital Citizens Alliance alongside claims that users of the app were effectively becoming part of a proxy network. The claim wasn’t a surprise to anyone that had bothered to read Mobdro’s EULA.

Mobdro operated an ad-supported model, with users who preferred not to see ads given an option to become peers within the Luminati network. This meant that their bandwidth and IP addresses could be legally used by Luminati customers for their chosen Internet activities.

Quite how many understood the implications of their choice to opt for no ads is unclear but it seems likely that relatively few bothered to read Mobdro’s EULA in full.

While it remains to be seen how the case will progress in Spain, Eurojust is clear that Mobdro made a lot of money. The detail and post mortem of how that revenue was generated and from where will likely prove an interesting topic of conversation in the months to come.

From: TF, for the latest news on copyright battles, piracy and more.

Car groups throw spanner in works of EU’s hydrogen drive

Industry pours cold water on idea hydrogen can vie with battery power to replace ICEs.

The lettering "BMW i - Hydrogen Next" can be seen on the front of a BMW X5 equipped with a hydrogen drive. The car is equipped with two 700 bar tanks for a total of 6 kg of hydrogen.

Enlarge / The lettering "BMW i - Hydrogen Next" can be seen on the front of a BMW X5 equipped with a hydrogen drive. The car is equipped with two 700 bar tanks for a total of 6 kg of hydrogen. (credit: picture alliance | Getty Images)

Europe’s two biggest industrial and economic powers are laying billions on the table in an attempt to take on China in developing a “green” hydrogen sector to replace fossil fuels—but the continent’s top motor groups are wary of going along for the ride.

“You won’t see any hydrogen usage in cars,” said Volkswagen chief executive Herbert Diess.

The idea of a big market for vehicles powered by hydrogen fuel cells is “very optimistic,” according to Diess, who has overseen a €35 billion push into electric cars. “Not even in 10 years,” he told the Financial Times, “because the physics behind it are so unreasonable.”

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"Nichts als Angst und Not"

Syrien: Politische Sackgassen und sechs Millionen Kinder, die auf Hilfe angewiesen sind

Syrien: Politische Sackgassen und sechs Millionen Kinder, die auf Hilfe angewiesen sind

COVID herd immunity may be unlikely—winter surges could “become the norm”

Despite a lot of uncertainty, researchers lay out five ways to prepare for the worst.

Empty vials of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a first-come, first-serve drive-thru vaccination site operated by the Lake County Health Department on January 28, 2021 in Groveland, Florida. Seniors 65 and older waited in line for hours to be vaccinated.

Enlarge / Empty vials of the Pfizer COVID-19 vaccine are seen at a first-come, first-serve drive-thru vaccination site operated by the Lake County Health Department on January 28, 2021 in Groveland, Florida. Seniors 65 and older waited in line for hours to be vaccinated. (credit: Getty | NurPhoto)

Some experts speculate that the pandemic coronavirus will one day cause nothing more than a common cold, mostly in children, where it will be an indistinguishable drip in the steady stream of snotty kid germs. Such is the reality for four other coronaviruses that have long stalked school yards and commonly circulate among us every cold and flu season, to little noticeable effect.

But that sanguine—if not slightly slimier—future is shaky. And the road to get there will almost certainly be rocky. For the pandemic coronavirus to turn from terror to trifle, we have to build up high levels of immunity against it. At the population level, this will be difficult—even with vaccines. And with the uncertainty of how we’ll pull it off, some experts are cautioning that we should prepare for the possibility that the pandemic coronavirus, SARS-CoV-2, will stick with us for the near future, possibly becoming a seasonal surge during the winter months when we’re largely indoors.

“The prospect of persistent and seasonal COVID-19 is real,” write public health expert Christopher Murray of the University of Washington and infectious disease expert Peter Piot of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. In a recent commentary in the Journal of the American Medical Association, the two warn that if that happens, it “could require both health system change and profound cultural adjustment for the life of high-risk individuals in the winter months. There is an urgent need to prepare for such a scenario.”

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