Editing ITV Digital (section)

====News Corporation hacking allegations====
On 31 March 2002, French cable company [[Canal+ (French TV channel)|Canal+]] accused [[Rupert Murdoch]]'s [[News Corporation (1980–2013)|News Corporation]] in the United States of extracting the UserROM code from its [[MediaGuard]] encryption cards and leaking it onto the internet.<ref>{{cite news 
  | last = Cassy
  | first = John 
  |author2=Paul Murphy 
  | title = How codebreakers cracked the secrets of the smart card 
  | newspaper = The Guardian
  | date = 13 March 2002
  | url = https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2002/mar/13/media.citynews
  | access-date = 2008-02-25
  | location=London}}</ref>

[[File:Rupertmurdoch.jpg|thumb|upright|Rupert Murdoch possibly used hacking to indirectly weaken ITV Digital]]
Canal+ brought a lawsuit against News Corporation alleging that it, through its subsidiary [[NDS Group|NDS]] (which provides encryption technology for Sky and other TV services from Murdoch), had been working on breaking the MediaGuard smartcards used by Canal+, ITV Digital and other non-Murdoch-owned TV companies throughout Europe.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/finance/2758371/ITV-Digital-set-to-sue-Murdoch.html | location=London | work=The Daily Telegraph | first=Neil | last=Bennett | title=ITV Digital set to sue Murdoch | date=31 March 2002}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-874199-murdochs-nds-faces-1bn-lawsuit.do |title = Murdoch's NDS faces $1bn lawsuit - News - London Evening Standard |archive-url=https://archive.today/20130505084119/http://www.thisislondon.co.uk/news/article-874199-murdochs-nds-faces-1bn-lawsuit.do |archive-date=5 May 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref> The action was later partially dropped after News Corporation agreed to buy Canal+'s struggling Italian operation [[Telepiu]], a direct rival to a Murdoch-owned company in that country.<ref>{{cite news 
  | title = Vivendi settles row with NDS
  | newspaper = The Guardian
  | date = 2 May 2003
  | url = https://www.theguardian.com/business/2003/may/02/5
  | access-date = 2008-05-20
  | location=London}}</ref><ref>{{cite news 
  | last = Tryhorn 
  | first = Chris  
  | title = Murdoch lines up Sky Italia
  | newspaper = The Guardian
  | date = 30 April 2002
  | url = https://www.theguardian.com/media/2003/apr/30/broadcasting.rupertmurdoch
  | access-date = 2008-05-20
  | location=London}}</ref> 
<!-- This doesn't tally with source although there is suggestion that the case was not closed -needs sourcing better.-->

Other legal action by [[EchoStar]]/NagraStar was being pursued as late as August 2005, accusing NDS of the same wrongdoing.<ref>{{cite news 
  | last =  Sullivan
  | first = Bob 
  | title = Pay-TV piracy flap intensifies
  | publisher = [[NBC News]]
  | url = https://www.nbcnews.com/id/3078546
  | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160305163031/http://www.nbcnews.com/id/3078546
  | url-status = dead
  | archive-date = 5 March 2016
  | access-date = 2008-02-25 }}</ref> In 2008, NDS was found to have broken piracy laws by hacking EchoStar Communications' smart card system, however only $1,500 in statutory damages was awarded.<ref>{{cite magazine 
  | title = EchoStar Wins Battle, Loses War In News Corp. Piracy Case
  | magazine = Multichannel News
  | url = http://www.multichannel.com/article/CA6561344.html
  | access-date = 2008-06-21 }}</ref>

On 26 March 2012, an investigation from BBC's ''[[Panorama (British TV programme)|Panorama]]'' found evidence that one of News Corporation's subsidiaries sabotaged ITV Digital. It found that NDS hacked ONdigital/ITV Digital smartcard data and leaked them through a pirate website under Murdoch's control – actions which enabled pirated cards to flood the market.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.digitalspy.com/tech/news/a373442/news-corps-nds-accused-of-itv-digital-hack/|title=NDS accused of ITV Digital card hack|website=[[Digital Spy]]|date=27 March 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-17494723|title=Murdoch firm accused of hacking|date=27 March 2012|publisher=BBC|work=BBC News}}</ref> The accusations arose from emails obtained by the BBC, and an interview with Lee Gibling, the operator of a hacking website, who claimed he was paid up to £60,000 per year by Ray Adams, NDS's head of security.<ref>{{cite news
 | title = Murdoch's TV Pirates
 | series = Panorama
 | publisher = BBC
 | url = http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dlvbm
 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20141209000000/http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b01dlvbm
 | archive-date = 9 December 2014
 | access-date = 21 January 2024
 | url-status = dead
 }} [https://archive.org/details/MurdochsTVPirates Alt URL]</ref> This would mean that Murdoch used computer hacking to directly undermine rival ITV Digital. Lawyers for News Corporation claimed that these accusations of illegal activities against a rival business are "false and libellous".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2012/mar/26/news-corp-ondigital-paytv-panorama|title=Questions for News Corp over rival's collapse|first=David|last=Leigh|date=26 March 2012|website=The Guardian}}</ref> In June 2013 the [[Metropolitan Police]] decided to look into these allegations following a request by [[Labour Party (UK)|Labour]] MP [[Tom Watson (Labour politician)|Tom Watson]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.theguardian.com/media/2013/jun/07/news-corp-subsidiary-nds-claim|title=Met looks into claims ex-News Corp subsidiary aided attack on pay-TV rival|first=Mark|last=Sweney|date=7 June 2013|website=The Guardian}}</ref>