According to the study “Consumer Risk from Piracy in Poland,” Polish consumers visiting piracy websites are nearly 40 times more exposed to cyber threats than when using legal sources of information.
This is the first study to describe in such detail the scale of cyber threats directly related to the use of piracy websites in Poland.
The research analyzes the risks for Polish consumers associated with visiting piracy websites, including illegal streaming services and P2P platforms. The findings show that consumers in Poland are significantly more exposed to cyber dangers from piracy websites compared to a control group of mainstream websites. According to the Cyberspace Defense Forces, Poland is also one of the countries experiencing the highest number of cyberattacks globally.
Digital piracy has far-reaching social consequences, leading to the erosion of intellectual property rights, affecting employment, lowering the quality and diversity of content, and carrying legal repercussions. From an economic perspective, it results in revenue losses for creators, reduced investments in innovation, negative impacts on the industry, increased cybersecurity costs, and implications for international trade relations.
Consumer risks related to digital piracy, especially concerning cybersecurity, include threats such as malware and viruses, identity theft, data breaches, legal consequences, piracy violations, and financial losses. Piracy websites often contain hidden malware or viruses, posing a threat to users who may unknowingly infect their devices. This, in turn, can lead to risks such as personal data theft, identity fraud, theft of banking account credentials, financial scams, software damage, data loss, or even the takeover of the user’s IT system.
In recent years, Poland has undergone significant digital transformation. Increased digitization and the adoption of technology in various aspects of daily life make consumers more dependent on digital services, potentially providing cybercriminals with more opportunities. The results of this study indicate a very high risk of encountering cyber threats when using piracy websites in Poland. In the worst-case scenario, if a consumer visits the 30 most popular P2P piracy websites, they may face up to 77 cyber threats. The study explores possible solutions to enhance the online security of Polish consumers.
We invite you to read the “Consumer Risk from Piracy in Poland” report by Paul A. Watters, PhD, which details the study’s methodology and key findings regarding threats from piracy websites. The author is an Associate Professor of Cybersecurity at La Trobe University (Melbourne) and an Honorary Professor of Security Studies and Criminology at Macquarie University (Sydney).
We encourage you to explore the report.
more: https://sygnal.org.pl/wp-content/uploads/2025/02/Watters_Consumer_Risk_from_Piracy_in_Poland.pdf