Month: June 2023

Pirate IPTV: Police Target 13 Suspects, Seize 620K Euros in Cash/Crypto

Italian police say they have targeted 13 people in Italy and Germany suspected of selling access to pirate IPTV services. Italian police units collaborated with their counterparts in Germany, with international judicial cooperation channels coordinated by Eurojust. Police say they seized over 620,000 euros in cash and crypto, and shut down 60 Telegram channels.

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

crypto-investItalian authorities are reporting that officers of the Special Privacy Protection and Technological Fraud Unit of the Guardia di Finanza of Rome have carried out a new operation against pirate IPTV.

Acting on a decree issued by the Public Prosecutor at the Court of Milan, 12 Italian nationals and one person of Albanian origins, living in several regions of Italy and Germany, were targeted on suspicion of operating social media channels dedicated to pirate IPTV subscription sales/resales.

While the announcement itself offers no specifics in respect of the suspects’ locations, a police video published today contains a slide showing maps of Italy and Germany and various marked locations.

iptv-gdf map

“In Frankfurt, Germany, the operations were conducted against two Italian subjects, through international judicial cooperation channels coordinated by Eurojust with the collaboration of the State Police of Hesse – Police Headquarters of Frankfurt – through a European Investigation Order issued by the Judicial Authority of Milan,” the announcement reads.

620K Euros in Cash/Crypto Seized, 60 Telegram Channels Shut Down

Police say that the decree issued by the Public Prosecutor allowed them to shut down 60 resources/channels on Telegram and a website used to sell the subscriptions. None of these channels were mentioned by name, so trying to confirm shutdowns or otherwise is impossible.

impero-iptvHowever, police did reveal that the organizers used a Telegram channel called ‘Impero IPTV’ (Empire IPTV) as a meeting point.

While we can’t rule out the police having another channel in mind, as far as we can see the Impero IPTV channel hasn’t been shut down and still has almost 250 members. Whether any have any cash to hand is up for debate.

Police say that a detailed investigation allowed financial experts to identify accounts opened by the suspects on digital payment portals, money transfer services, and cryptocurrency exchanges. As a result they were able to seize assets worth over 620,000 euros.

“It should be noted that the criminal proceedings still concern the preliminary investigation phase and that the responsibility of the suspects will be definitively ascertained only in the event of an irrevocable sentence of conviction,” police conclude.

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

ACS Armoured Car Systems: Bundeswehr soll E-Motorrad für Fernspäher testen

Die wieder aufgestellten Fernspäher der Bundeswehr sollen ein leichtes E-Motorrad testen, das besonders leise sein soll. E-Motorräder werden im Krieg bereits eingesetzt. (E-Bike, Politik)

Die wieder aufgestellten Fernspäher der Bundeswehr sollen ein leichtes E-Motorrad testen, das besonders leise sein soll. E-Motorräder werden im Krieg bereits eingesetzt. (E-Bike, Politik)

Probefahrt mit Opel Astra Electric: Brot und Butter werden auch als Auto teuer

Opel macht beim vollelektrischen Astra vieles besser als bei den bisherigen Elektromodellen. Doch ist der hohe Preis gerechtfertigt? Ein Bericht von Friedhelm Greis (Elektroauto, Technologie)

Opel macht beim vollelektrischen Astra vieles besser als bei den bisherigen Elektromodellen. Doch ist der hohe Preis gerechtfertigt? Ein Bericht von Friedhelm Greis (Elektroauto, Technologie)

Stars collided in galactic “demolition derby,” produced oddball gamma-ray burst

Such oddball events tell astronomers a lot about spectacular diversity of cosmic explosions.

Artist’s Impression of a gamma ray burst

Enlarge / Astronomers studying a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) may have observed a never-before-seen way to destroy a star. (credit: Int'l Gemini Observatory/NOIRLab/NSF/AURA/M. Garlick/M. Zamani)

When astronomers spotted a powerful gamma-ray burst (GRB) in October 2019, the most likely explanation was that it was produced by a massive dying star in a distant galaxy exploding in a supernova. But data from subsequent observations showed that the burst originated with the collision of stars (or their remnants) in a densely packed area near the supermassive black hole of an ancient galaxy, according to a new paper published in the journal Nature Astronomy. Such a rare event has been hypothesized, but this is the first observational evidence for one.

As we've reported previously, gamma-ray bursts are extremely high-energy explosions in distant galaxies lasting between mere milliseconds to several hours. There are two classes of gamma-ray bursts. Most (70 percent) are long bursts lasting more than two seconds, often with a bright afterglow. These are usually linked to galaxies with rapid star formation. Astronomers think that long bursts are tied to the deaths of massive stars collapsing to form a neutron star or black hole (or, alternatively, a newly formed magnetar). The baby black hole would produce jets of highly energetic particles moving near the speed of light, powerful enough to pierce through the remains of the progenitor star, emitting X-rays and gamma rays.

Those gamma-ray bursts lasting less than two seconds (about 30 percent) are deemed short bursts, usually emitting from regions with very little star formation. Astronomers think these gamma-ray bursts result from mergers between two neutron stars or a neutron star merging with a black hole, comprising a "kilonova."

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