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March 27 UK Piracy The Australian Financial Review 60 FEATURES Tuesday 27 March 2012 l www.afr.com Rear Window Edited by Joe Aston [email protected] Murdoch cops a blast over pay TV pirates The global media giant News Corp that NDS is responsible for TV piracy or distributed codes that facilitated that piracy.” is alleged to have funded a website NDS has been sued for piracy by some of the for pay-TV hackers and pirates, world’s largest pay TV broadcasters, including Canal Plus in France, EchoStar and DirecTV leading to the demise of a rival (an NDS client) in the US, Sogecable in Spain broadcaster, writes Neil Chenoweth. and MEASAT’s Astro platform in Malaysia. Canal Plus dropped its 2002 lawsuit as part of a deal to sell its Telepiu pay TV arm to News; upert Murdoch’s media empire, still DirecTV dropped its claim against NDS in struggling with the crisis over 2004 after News took control of the group; telephone hacking by its journalists Sogecable and MEASAT dropped their at News International, is facing fresh lawsuits after several years; while EchoStar allegations that it promoted pay TV won nominal damages on three counts in a Rpiracy to cripple a rival broadcaster in Britain. 2008 trial and had to pay $18 million legal Two former senior British policemen, a costs to NDS. Metropolitan Police commander Ray Adams In Italy, a leading anti-piracy advocate, and a chief inspector with the Surrey police, Davide Rossi, who was an NDS consultant, is Len Withall, are reported by the BBC’s facing trial on charges that he helped and Spooks spoil Huawei spin party Panorama investigative program to have protected an Italian hacker who was targeting You have to feel for big, bad telco Huawei. Despite board a year ago, the relationship was operated a piracy website that released codes the Swiss Nagra group, which was providing brandishing enough PR and lobbying firepower to discontinued. They've also got Julia Gillard's to unlock programming for faltering pay TV encryption for News’s Sky Italia. have a seat at the table in Thank You For Smoking, former boss, John Brumby, on the board while company ITV Digital. The Italian hacker, known as Linixone, was its hopes for a piece of the NBN action are in Huawei's Australian director of corporate affairs is ITV Digital collapsed in March 2002 with also on a monthly payment from NDS, paid via tatters ± courtesy of the Australian Security and former Tony Abbott adviser Jeremy Mitchell. losses of more than £1 billion, overwhelmed by News International. Intelligence Organisation, which was spooked by As far as Rear Window can see, Mitchell is mass piracy, as well as technical restrictions Television piracy exists because of the the risk of Chinese cyber sabotage. running a travel agency ± flying Julie Bishop, and expensive sports contracts. Its collapse left difficulty pay TV groups have in ensuring that Huawei's Shenzhen-based executives must be Bronwyn Bishop and Andrew Robb to China for a Murdoch-controlled BSkyB the dominant pay only paying subscribers get to watch the scratching their heads ± after all, they've thrown look-see in the past eight months. Who told him TV provider in the UK. programming. all but the resources of the Australian Wheat Beehive Bronnie had sway over the Coalition's Adams and Withall, who were secretly The answer is to scramble the satellite or Board at this. They originally had Bespoke telecommunications policies? filmed by Panorama discussing their role cable stream. A smartcard that is inserted in Approach ± the lobbying outfit of Ian Smith, Looks like a sure bet for PR fail of the year. If operating a website called The House of Ill the set-top box checks that the Foxtel or BSkyB Alexander Downer and Nick Bolkus ± on the books, only they'd hired Bruce Hawker ± they could've got Compute (thoic.com), strenuously deny that subscriber is paid up, then unscrambles the but when Downer was appointed to their local the same result and saved themselves a fortune. they provided operating codes for ITV Digital, picture. or that any codes for ITV Digital appeared on But through the 1990s, sophisticated pay TV the Thoic site. hackers were able to crack the smartcards used A spokesman for CBA denied that Sutton had The Panorama program, which was due to by leading pay TV companies and sell pirate Hawker cops ALP flak been in limbo, saying ªthere were plans for Jon go to air early this morning Australian time, cards that allow users to watch for free. While As the reality of the election debacle sets in at but obviously they won't be going ahead now includes an interview with Lee Gibling, the piracy could cost pay TV companies hundreds Labor watering holes in Brisbane, the name of that he's resignedº. former hacker who was paid £5000 a month on of millions of dollars in lost revenue, many Bruce Hawker is on the lips of some of the ALP Senior CBA insiders insist Sutton is a valued top of operating costs to run Thoic. He said people, including police, minimised the faithful. executive who leaves with Narev's best wishes. the website was controlled and funded by NDS offence. His contribution to the Anna Bligh debacle is In an interesting twist, Rear Window has Ltd, an Israeli technology company Murdoch James Murdoch in particular has been a not likely to be forgotten for awhile. learned that ABC's Four Corners program is set up in 1988 to provide encryption services to vehement critic of piracy, calling for tougher He is being blamed ± fairly or not ± for Bligh's working on a story about Bankwest, and his new satellite operation, Sky Television. The penalties in a speech in Abu Dhabi two years campaign resembling a mud-slinging Republican specifically its treatment of commercial claims come as UK media regulator Ofcom is ago. primary contest. While the strategy was property mortgagees soon after it was reviewing whether News is a fit and proper “These are property rights, these are basic designed to drive up Campbell Newman's acquired by CBA. Disgruntled customers say it person to hold a broadcast licence. Ofcom’s property rights,” he said. “There is no negatives, it actually drove up Bligh's. engaged in aggressive book clearing, which the Project Apple officials are liaising with the difference from going into a store and stealing Ron Burgundy's identical twin may think bank strongly denies. Metropolitan Police’s Weeting and Elveden a packet of Pringles or a handbag, and stealing carefully before he ventures back across the The allegations are the subject of court teams investigating hacking and bribery something online. Right? Tweed ± although come to think of it he's hardly proceedings. Four Corners reporter Deb allegations – and studying evidence given to “I think it’s crazy, frankly, people say, ‘Oh, the flavour of the month in Canberra, either, Whitmont has already interviewed almost the Leveson inquiry on press standards. it’s different, these kids, you know, these crazy after urging Julia Gillard not to contest the 40 people for the yarn. Will Sutton come out of It puts further pressure on Rupert and James kids.’ No. Punish them.” leadership. Fortunate then that he cashed out of it smelling like roses? Murdoch, both of whom appeared on July 19, When the Operational Security unit was set his Hawker Britton log-rolling business. Things 2011 before the UK parliamentary culture, up in 1996, NDS smartcards for BSkyB and could be a little quiet for the Anchorman after media and sport select committee investigating US satellite broadcaster DirecTV had been his recent two-zip record. Giants rise in stature the telephone hacking allegations. It was a day widely pirated. The new Sydney AFL franchise, the GWS Giants, News Corporation chairman Rupert Murdoch Ray Adams, who had retired from the Westpac hooks Butcher put in a solid showing in their debut match against described as “the most humble” of his life. Metropolitan Police on health grounds in 1993 the Sydney Swans at ANZ Stadium on Saturday At its peak in 2000, Thoic was recording after a brilliant but controversial career, was Gail Kelly's chief spinner at Westpac, David Bell, night. Hosting 800 people at a pre-match dinner, close to 2 million hits a day from hackers hired to become European chief for left his gig of two years recently and the Business Council of Australia president Tony around the world, who posted codes for a wide Operational Security. Withall was his deputy. vacancy at the top of the bank's media and Shepherd, who also chairs the Giants, dazzled in range of pay TV companies, though not for “I am proud of my time at NDS,” Adams government affairs team is the talk of the PR an orange shirt and club tie. NDS clients. told the Financial Review earlier this month. “I world ± that and the two vacancies under chief His guests included new federal Sports Minister “It was NDS, it was their baby and it started took on the fight against SKY piracy when no Qantas communicator Olivia Wirth. Kate Lundy and her NSW counterpart Graham to become more their baby as they fashioned it one else could even evaluate the number of Rear Window has learnt that, far from sitting Annesley, whose years as an NRL referee came in to their own design,” Gibling told Panorama. devices and the loss of revenue. on its heels, Australia's oldest bank has handy as he tossed the coin. Virgin Australia's Last week News Corporation lawyers wrote “I did this in record time by identifying the engaged the services of Melbourne-based John Borghetti mingled with fans and Giants to British newspapers warning that pirates and either arresting or recruiting them adviser Andrew Butcher, formerly a corporate sponsors, including Skoda's Valentin Tendero, who Panorama’s allegations were “serious, to a better cause.” affairs boss at Telstra and before that in New made the trip from Prague to join local CEO defamatory, false and highly damaging; we The recruits included Lee Gibling, who had York as senior vice-president at Rupert Matthew Wiesner at the historic debut.
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