The recent one hacker attack that targeted thousands of accounts worldwide, even the official account of the fire brigade in Greece in order to manipulate users into buying cryptocurrency branded “$HACKED” on the Solana network, brings to light an alarming mix of consumer security threats.

The same cryptocurrency has also been spotted in major pirate pay TV networks, where users are misled or unknowingly involved in suspicious transactions, since many pirates have such cryptocurrency payment methods.

The relationship between hackers and pirate networks

Pirate pay-TV networks, which illegally offer access to sports events, movies and series, try in every way to attract customers by promising lower prices.

However, promises of cheaper content come with increased risks and many incidents of malicious attacks. The vast illegal income of pirates is traded through cryptocurrencies, but at the same time, hackers also take advantage of the weak security measures of these illegal networks to infiltrate users’ accounts, manipulating them for malicious purposes.

The introduction of cryptocurrency into piracy networks suggests that both piracy networks and hackers are using these illegitimate platforms as a platform to further their own financial interests. Many users, in the absence of proper information and protection, fall victim to phishing or malware attacks, which force them to purchase cryptocurrencies against their will.

The link between recent cyber-attacks and pirated pay-TV networks highlights the increased risks for consumers who choose to pursue the “cheaper” solution of illegally accessing content. The collaboration of pirate networks, hackers and cryptocurrencies we see can prove extremely damaging to the end users of pirated connections, both financially and legally.