The 2014 World Cup started in the middle of June and ended on July 13th. This was to be a memorable World Cup not only for the play on the pitch but for the illegal streaming as well. It is estimated that 500,000 people watched the Russia vs. Belgium game illegally.

While this number was high, the more important games had even more viewers. Even though there were legal live streams viewers still watched illegally. According to a poll by The Washington Post, one in five watchers went on "some shady Web site."

Stop the Fight 
 About halfway through the tournament on June 27th, Viaaccess-Orca sent out 2,000 take down notices to illegal live streaming sites. “The success rate varies per content platform but overall we manage to get 35 percent of the streaming links disabled before the game ends.

I think this is a great success rate, especially compared to direct download sites,” David Leporini, Viaccess-Orca Executive Vice President of Marketing, Products and Security said when speaking with TorrentFreak.

Gone Phishing
 Many of these streaming sites can force a user to download Adware disguised as plugins that drain a computer for its processing abilities. While Adware is not technically illegal, it borders on being a virus and runs stealthily on a computer and can cause many problems.

Cybercriminals have also targeted fans with phishing attacks offering free tickets to games. Viaaccess-Orca can measure a section of the viewers through P2P streams and can even see what region of the globe people are watching in. The rest of the audience is viewing through a centralized streaming service, which they cannot track as closely.

Social Implications
About the Author:

 Ryan Polachi is a contributing writer concentrating his focus on Marketing, Finance and Innovation. He can be reached at rpolachi@IIRUSA.com.