New research carried out on behalf of the UK content protection organisation FACT has found illegal sports streaming sites expose fans to financial fraud, dangerous scams, and explicit content.
The research from Opentext Security Solutions, which investigates cyber resilience, found all 50 streaming sites analysed were found to have malicious content. More than 90% of sites were classified risky, while more than 40% had no security certificate; explicit and extreme pop-ups bombarded visitors to the sites.
Kieron Sharp, CEO at FACT said: “It’s clear from this report that users of illicit streaming services are putting themselves and their families at risk of serious harm. Viewing content illegally puts users’ data at significant risk from hackers and organised criminals and, worryingly, exposes children to explicit content. To protect our children as well as our data, audiences must watch content only through the legal providers.”
The research also found numerous examples of explicit content being hosted or linked to on illegal streaming sites. This explicit content was extreme and a seen as a “real risk” to families who might share devices with children in their households.
Kelvin Murray, Senior Threat Researcher at Opentext Security Solutions: “These illegal streaming sites are often run by criminal enterprises to gain users’ personal data and sell them on. There is no safe way to use them without putting yourself at risk. As the people who run these sites become savvier, the scams that they employ to trick users into giving up their data will be harder to spot. Therefore, we recommend avoiding these types of websites and not putting yourself in danger.”
It was also apparent from the study that it is increasingly difficult to find watchable content, as users are bounced around numerous sites, without ever actually finding what they are looking for.
FACT continues to campaign for the protection of content on behalf of the film and television industries. It works with the police and relevant law enforcement authorities.
