Google Victim Blamed For Piracy Shield Blunder, Warning Over Infiltration Risk

After Italy's Piracy Shield system blocked Google Drive last weekend, telecoms regulator AGCOM says that if Google had fully collaborated in the fight against piracy, the disruption could've been easily avoided. Meanwhile, an expert has raised the alarm over Piracy Shield's security, warning that nobody knows whether a bad actor has infiltrated the platform. Google Drive today, but will it be trains, hospitals, and government infrastructure tomorrow?

 After blocking Cloudflare in February, the reputation of Italy’s Piracy Shield IPTV blocking system found itself on life support; it wasn’t actually dead, though, at least not yet.

Acceptance by those responsible that things needed to improve, with an olive branch extended to the experts previously ignored, would’ve been viewed as a positive step. Instead, initial denial led to reluctant acceptance that something had indeed happened, but it was insignificant and if anything, Cloudflare was largely to blame. Then came the double down; followed by another, and then another.

After suing Cloudflare to compel its participation in Piracy Shield, Serie A lost the lawsuit yet still managed to come out on top. Legal amendments passed into law this month make Piracy Shield cooperation mandatory and for good measure, internet service providers now face a potential prison sentence for failing to report piracy. Italian citizens, meanwhile, were put on notice of automated piracy fines arriving in the mail.

Oppression Will Continue Until Morale Improves

When Google Drive was blocked in error on Saturday night, the mood among observers – some of whom belong to the ‘ignored’ group mentioned above – was one of disbelief. The most famous internet domain ever to exist had simply walked through every security check before blocking measures denied service to millions of innocent Google users.

On Sunday, to a background of lingering blocking still causing issues, a timely live discussion took place on YouTube. Hosted by corporate reputation expert Matteo Flora, participants included (left to right, full list here) former AGCOM Commissioner Antonio Nicita, current AGCOM Commissioner Massimiliano Capitanio, and former member of parliament, IT expert, and founder of Rialto Venture Capital, Stefano Quintarelli.

For context, Quintarelli’s latest blog post is titled “#PiracyShield, 10.19.2024 the largest cyber attack in Italy.” Would Massimiliano Capitanio be able to say anything to assure those in attendance that everything is under control and there’s nothing to worry about?

Blocking Google Drive “Should Not Happen Again”

Capitanio acknowledged the seriousness of blocking Google Drive and said this should not happen again. He characterized the incident as a “distraction” and a “serious problem” but took no responsibility and stopped short of issuing an apology.

AGCOM’s commissioner went on to defend the regulatory framework and technical ability of the Piracy Shield platform. As for the blunder, that was put down to an “erroneous report” filed by a rightsholder, most likely part of a batch of legitimate reports that didn’t cause chaos.

Blocking Blunders Must Not Derail Piracy Fight

Capitanio repeatedly refused to say who was directly responsible but pointed in the general direction of Serie A, Sky, and DAZN, the three entities that currently account for most if not all live blocking in Italy. Pointing out that 600 domains and 200 IP addresses associated with pirate services were disabled on the same day without issues, Capitanio insisted that the blunder must not be allowed to detract from the mission in hand; combating illegal streaming services and the organized crime behind them.

Indeed, Capitanio’s own focus on blocking to protect football was absolute. There was no concern expressed towards Google or the millions of users affected by the extended blackout, only defense of the Piracy Shield system. Ultimately, however, Google was never likely to be considered a victim if there was any chance it could take some of the blame.

Once again, Capitanio criticized Google and Cloudflare for not registering with the Piracy Shield platform. If Google had done so, Capitanio said, the details of Google Drive’s infrastructure could’ve been put on the national “do not block” list in advance, thereby avoiding the negative effects of Saturday night’s blocking blunder.

AGCOM’s chief then went on to complain about Google’s refusal to delete Android apps already installed on users devices and other measures AGCOM regularly demands, none of which are required by law.

A Dire Warning From Stefano Quintarelli

Quintarelli believes that piracy needs to be combated but has little faith that the current reliance on blocking mechanisms through intermediaries is effective. Indeed, reliance on a solution like Piracy Shield is likely to be both ineffective and introduce new problems, such as the overblocking and collateral damage seen last weekend.

Of more concern is his belief that the inherent insecurity of the Piracy Shield platform introduces a “huge systemic vulnerability” that eclipses the fight against piracy. Italy now has a system in place designed to dramatically disrupt internet communications and since no system is entirely secure, what happens if a bad actor somehow gains control?

Quintarelli says that if the Piracy Shield platform were to be infiltrated and maliciously exploited, essential services like hospitals, transportation systems, government functions, and critical infrastructure would be exposed to catastrophic blocking. Stefano Zanero and host Matteo Flora both expressed concern that lives could be at risk if blocking targeted life-supporting services.

That wouldn’t necessarily require a state actor with malicious intent, just someone with access to the current system untrained enough to consider the most popular domain in the world a legitimate target.

None of the rightsholders mentioned by Capitanio took part in the discussion. If any had attended, they could’ve explained why the commissioner’s enjoyment of an entirely legal stream provided by DAZN also faced interruption Saturday night due to the same blocking blunder.

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