Russian Student Arrested in US for Stealing TV Information

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Last updated at: (Beijing Time) Friday, January 03, 2003

Russian Student Arrested in US for Stealing TV Information

A Russian student at the University of Chicago was arrested Thursday in Los Angeles for allegedly stealing information on the cable operator DirecTV's access cards.

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A Russian student at the University of Chicago was arrested Thursday for allegedly stealing information on the cable operator DirecTV's access cards.

Igor Serebryany, 19, was charged with stealing information on DirecTV's access cards from a law firm which represents the cable operator and distributing them to pirate websites, the Los Angeles office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said in a statement.

The card, known as "Period 4," is DirecTV's fourth-generation access system developed after its three earlier versions were hacked by pirates. The access cards were used to regulate the service that the television company provides to its subscribers.

DirecTV, a unit of Hughes Electronics Corp., spent more than 25 million US dollars in developing the "Period 4" card, according to the 51-page criminal complaint. The card has yet to be compromised by hackers, it said.

Serebryany was working for an outside printing and copying service which was preparing the paperwork for the law firm. He then distributed the information for free to websites dedicated to the hacking of DirecTV's security systems.

If convicted, Serebryany faces up to 10 years in prison, a fine, or both, the FBI said.

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