THE GROWING CONCERNS OF ANTI-PIRACY

by Peter Jason Content Enthusiast

One of the leading predicament in the contemporary epoch is that of anti-piracy. This single term hoists many variegated questions in the minds of internet and data users as to what does it actually elucidates. Anti-piracy in simple terms can be defined as the prevention of un-authorized use or reproduction of copy-right material. Regrettable is the actuality that this adversity often goes unaddressed, therefore there is a grave exigency to consider and decipher this issue at hand.

Digital privacy has increasingly become a topic of interest as information and data shared over the social web have continued to become more commercialized. For nearly 10 years, the U.S., Canada and Europe have recognized January 28 as “Data Privacy Day” (or Data Protection Day). Content muggers from different areas of the world appropriate content of others without giving a thought to the repercussions, which would eventually be encountered by the creator.

Movie thieves use recording devices to record and steal movies from theater screens. These devices include, video camcorders, digital cameras, cell phones and audio capturing devices. Movie theft causes economic harm to everyone, from film makers to theater employees. Also, it jeopardizes the future of movie making. Study shows that publishers lose more than $300 million in potential revenue to illegal downloads each year.

With the growing number of users and devices on the internet, there is a sprouting consideration of identity theft. In the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), consisting of Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates, there is no overreaching federal law that addresses data protection, but each country has addressed these concerns at national level. However Egypt after years of debate has finally managed to introduce the Republic’s first standalone data protection law, which aims to regulate and protect citizens’ data online. On 15 July 2020, Resolution No. 151 of 2020 was published in the Official Gazette. There is now a ray of hope that this will help Egypt attract foreign investment by increasing consumer confidence in electronic data processing and setting clear parameters for companies looking to capitalize on the growth of the digital economy.

Steps should be initiated in order to prevent this disorder. Cookies and anti-virus soft-wares are a basic tool to stop digital property from being stolen. Everyone should also use two-step authentication whenever possible for their online accounts. Complex passwords should be set up in order to avert the dangers of piracy. In the past decade, data breaches and password leaks have struck companies such as Equifax, Facebook, Home Depot, Marriott, Target, Yahoo, and countless others. Evidently it is crucial to secure all accounts so that hackers cannot barge in and use your data.

IT specialist and consultant from Egypt, the founder and CEO of Shield Consultancy, Moataz O Saleh sheds light on anti-piracy. His company is working actively on taking down the piracy movies, media, books, content all around the internet and Middle East and which is succoring the economy and all related business to heal and secure jobs for many in this line of business.

Saleh emphasis that “there are sites that blackmail production companies to pay them in exchange for removing the film from their forums. There are also those who launch over a hundred fake websites that are being fully monitored, with the intention of deluding some producers into thinking that the film has been leaked on a large scale, giving them the illusion that the situation is uncontainable, and then using this to blackmail them by persuading them that the films can be deleted, when in reality these sites have no views and do not even appear in search engines. These “pirates” can be hackers, amateurs, or others simply looking to make some money by publishing pirated materials and making them available to all Internet users to earn huge sums through advertisements on their websites and blackmailing producers.”

Salah further enlightens data users that it should be the prime objective of content creators to initiate steps and policies which would assist them in data protection thereby saving them from the horrors of piracy. Some users are still unaware of the fact that their creations are being embezzled and used for commercial purposes. It is high time to stop this criminality which thwarts the industry from flourishing and thriving.