Threat Management

Fresno man arrested for streaming ‘Deadpool’ on Facebook

A Fresno, Calif. man Tuesday was arrested after sharing a full version of “Deadpool” to Facebook last year while the film was still in theaters as entertainment industry fights back against cyber threats.

Authorities said 21-year-old Trevon Maurice Franklin allegedly uploaded the movie approximately eight days after its February 2016 theater release and he is being charged with reproducing and distributing a copyrighted work, according to a June 13 press release. The crime carries a statutory maximum penalty of three years in prison if convicted.

It's unclear how long the movie remained on the site and the social media giant hasn't commented on the incident.

Earlier this week a group of 30 leading entertainment companies including Amazon, HBO, Hulu, Netflix, and Twentieth Century Fox joined forces to create a coalition called Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment (ACE) in order to fight online piracy.

“Piracy also puts consumers at risk,” the coalition said in a June 13 press release. “One in three pirate sites target consumers with malware that can lead to a range of problems including identify theft and financial loss, according to a December 2015 report by Digital Citizens Alliance.”

ESET security researcher Stephen Cobb pointed out content creators can help better secure their information by making sure their digital IP is protected at all times, even during post-production, using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework.

“Clearly, the entertainment industry is not exempt from the attentions of cybercriminals and they are currently exploring ways to exploit the industry's increasing reliance on a cyber supply change,” Cobb said in a June 15 blog post. “The time to check your defenses is now, not later.”


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