Like every year, the Office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) has released its annual list of problematic piracy websites. The idea is to highlight these threats in the hope that major Internet players and the authorities of other countries will take action against copyright infringement.
To establish its selection, the USTR relies in part on contributions from pressure groups in the entertainment industry and in particular the RIAA (Music) and the MPA (series and cinema).
Well-known names in hacking
By looking closely at this list, we understand that these actors are targeting the piracy ecosystem as a whole. In addition to well-known services, we therefore find companies specializing in domain names, proxies, or even hosting companies. Some are therefore not directly responsible for the piracy, but could be used by hackers.
Unsurprisingly, we find big names, such as 1337x, TorrentGalaxy, RuTracker and YTS, or even the immovable The Pirate Bay. In the field of video games, the American authorities mention FitGirl-Repacks, known for providing access to pirated versions on PC.
Finally, the USTR welcomes several successes obtained this year in the field of hacking and in particular the “Taken Down” operation which made it possible to dismantle a vast network in Italy.
Here is the list of sites and services identified by the USTR in its annual report:
Torrent Sites
- 1337X: torrent file sharing platform.
- RuTracker: main Russian torrent site.
- The Pirate Bay: historic torrent sharing site.
- TorrentGalaxy: site offering a variety of torrents.
- YTS.mx: site offering a variety of torrents.
File Hosters / Cyberlockers
- 1file: file hosting and sharing service.
- Krakenfiles: large file storage platform.
- Rapidgator: file host often associated with sharing protected content.
- Savefrom: service allowing you to download online content.
Streaming / IPTV
- Cuevana3: streaming site for films and series in Spanish.
- GenIPTV: IPTV service provider.
- Hianime: anime streaming site.
- MagisTV: IPTV service offering live channels.
- VegaMovies: movie streaming platform.
Accommodation / Infrastructure
- Amaratu: hosting service provider.
- DDoS-Guard: protection service against DDoS attacks.
- FlokiNET: host offering services focused on freedom of expression.
- Squitter: hosting service provider.
- Virtual Systems: virtual hosting service.
Social Networks
- VK: Russian social network.
Video Games
- NSW2U: site offering games for Nintendo Switch.
- FitGirl-Repacks: Provides versions of video games on PC.
- Unknowncheats: forum offering mods for online games.
Music
- Y2Mate: YouTube video download and conversion service.
Edition
- Libgen: online library offering e-books.
- Sci-Hub: website providing scientific articles.
Finally, let us point out that, despite the increasingly strong repression against pirate platforms, their success is growing. For example, IPTV attendance has never been so high.
