A man was sentenced to 32 months imprisonment for illegal online sale of Virgin Media TV set-top boxes.
The set-top boxes contained hardware that allowed users to watch Virgin Media television services without registering.
Mark Brighty from Leicester was arrested after an investigation by the Federation Against Copyright Theft (Fact) and the Leicestershire police.
Fact said it had sold up to 300 devices, which it imported from China.
Officers found the Virgin Media set-top boxes, which were being sold for £40 each, along with £600 worth of cocaine in his possession earlier this year.
Brighty pleaded guilty to two charges under the law, UK fraud, as well as possession with intent to supply Class A drug substances.
“Intellectual property crime is not a victimless crime – it costs industriesand the UK economy hundreds of millions of pounds every year,” said Kieron Sharp, director general of Fact.
“This case shows that the theft of intellectual property is considered a low‑risk activity by criminals, who often use it to cover more serious crimes, in this case drug trafficking”
‘Old school’
The security specialist, Professor Alan Woodward from the University of Surrey, said that it was a “old‑school” approach to hacking.
“Set-top boxes, like those from Virgin Media, are quite specialized, so finding a more general piece of hardware that will run this software is not easy.”
“You may see specialized hardware being sold for hacking, but it tends to be to allow a hacker to infiltrate networks or communicate with their hacking businesses rather than being a gimmick, as in this case», added.
“I am quite surprised that someone went to all this trouble, as there are easier ways to earn illegal money from online hacking.”
