According to a report by the Digital Citizens Alliance, one in three piracy websites contain malware, and distributing it is a estimated $70 million dollar a year business for them.
The DCA's "Digital Bait" study was conducted by RiskIQ and looked at 800 websites that distributed copyrighted material from torrenting networks to streaming hubs. What they found was that users who visited the websites they were monitoring were 28 times more likely to get infections than from the websites in their control group.
The DCA warn that hackers can use these programs to commit identity theft, sell personal information, or take control of your computer to spread spam, commit denial-of-service attacks and commit ad fraud.
The study acknowledges that the $70 million dollar a year figure is a rough estimate based on several assumptions. No matter how you read the numbers, though, the research is clear that malware is a big business on piracy sites and that it's a growing problem.
According to the study, "over the last few years, significant breaches in the customer databases of high-profile companies have created greater awareness about the need for cyber security. The threat of content theft and malware must be part of that conversation."
To check out the complete report and infographics yourself, click here. The DCA is a Washington-based non-profit dedicated to "educating the public and policymakers on the threats that consumers face on the Internet." RiskIQ is a cyber security firm based in San Francisco.
Sasha Erfanian is a freelancer from Toronto.
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