A Wired Magazine article in 2008 confirmed the role of Tarnovsky and the high stakes involved in the suit brought by Canal+ against NDS:
"Before
Canal Plus's case against NDS died, Tarnovsky indicated to the company
that Reuven Hazak had given him the Canal Plus code to post it on the
internet. He reportedly told the French firm he would testify in the
case, but later backed out, citing fear for his life and his family." Kim Zetter, Wired, April 21, 2008
Tarnovsky may have been concerned due to the suspicious death by hanging of another of the Thioc.com hackers, Boris Floricic (Tron) in Germany who had allegedly been involved in a 1998 hacking operation.
The Canal+ suit against NDS posed a major risk for the Murdoch Empire. Canal+ claimed just what the hackers confirmed and filed suit for billions. Had NDS lost the suit, the damages would have been staggering due to this and other pending suits by other cable companies.
News Corporation acquired Canal+ from its French parent, Vivendi, and the suit ended. All of the material collected by Canal+ team became the property of NDS. NDS denies any wrong doing in this or any other case of cable hacking for profit.
The BBC's Panorama television show documented a much broader set of hacking activities by NDS including interviews with hackers.
Where is law enforcement?
The London Metropolitan Police (the Met), has done nothing. BSKYB is located in London and any claimed illegal activities would fall under the Met's jurisdiction.
The London Metropolitan Police bungled several promising investigations that could have broken the current phone hacking fiasco years ago by fingering Murdoch's News Corporation as the main perpetrator. A detailed deposition given to the phone hacking inquiry by a senior Met officer described how two top Met officials (the commissioner and assistant commissioner) stifled investigations when matters came too close to the powerful in London.
Ray Adams, the NDS security head who launched the hacker web site, was twice investigated for shielding gangsters before retiring from the Met. The damaging findings of the internal investigations were kept form a subsequent high profile investigation of a racially motivated murder in 1993 where Adam's behavior was called into question. Was the Met protecting Adams? Is is still protecting Adams?
The U.S Department of Justice has failed to follow up on the cable hacking charges, a major cyber crime despite the evidence brought forth in the Canal+ trial. In fact, in 1998, the U.S. Customs Service partnered with NDS in a sting operation to catch cable pirates in the state of Washington. The sting backfired when the stolen cable security codes became available to cable pirates. Direct TV, then owned by General Motors, lost millions as a result of the operation. Had Justice been a little more curious in 1998, the subsequent hacking and cable piracy would have been prevented.
Where is the United States Department of Justice? How much more smoke do they need to see before they suspect a major fire?
Shareholders to the rescue
A major shareholder revolt emerged during the early stages of the News Corporation phone hacking scandal. Institutional investors launched a law suit and corporate governance actions against the Murdoch management of News Corporation. The opening sentence of the suit takes aim at Rupert Murdoch and his family: "Rupert Murdoch ("Murdoch") -- News Corp's founder, Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and controlling shareholder -- habitually uses News Corp to enrich himself and his family members at the Company's and its public shareholders' expense."
In October 2011, shareholders mounted a bid to disapprove the reelection to the News Corporation board of Rupert Murdoch and son's James (then chairman of BSKYB) and Lachlan. The main target was James Murdoch then head of News International during the phone hacking scandal and chairman of BSKYB. There was a 35% vote of disapproval. A separate action in November 2011 targeted James position as chairman of BSKYB. That also failed although both efforts were impressive.
The Christian Brothers Investment Service s filed a proxy proposal on April 2 to replace Murdoch with an independent board chairman in light of the ongoing scandals. Reuters quoted the investment firm's Julie Turner, director of social responsible investment, as saying, "With current arrangements, the company is stepping into the scandal with a flawed corporate governance structure."
Why it's about NDS
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