Teen Admits Pirating Anti-Piracy Tech

A college student pleaded guilty Monday to stealing trade secrets of DirecTV's most advanced anti-piracy technology — information that could help television owners steal signals from the satellite company.

Igor Serebryany, 19, could be sentenced to as much as 10 years in prison, but the plea deal recommends probation, said Nina Marino, Serebryany's attorney. Prosecutors were also seeking up to $146,000 in restitution to DirecTV Inc., Marino said.

"It is in the discretion of the court, however, at this offense level, imprisonment is unlikely," Marino said.

Serebryany was charged under the federal Economic Espionage Act of 1996, which prohibits anyone from disclosing trade secrets for economic benefit. Only about 35 criminal cases have been filed under the law.

The University of Chicago student admitted stealing digital copies of hundreds of secret documents pertaining to DirecTV's most advanced access card while he was working in the Los Angeles office of a law firm representing the satellite provider, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

"His intent was to have the material posted and made available to the hacking community," said Assistant U.S. Attorney James W. Spertus.

The documents, which included details about the design and architecture of DirecTV's "Period 4" cards, began showing up in October on underground Web sites and discussion groups that specialize in defeating the devices. The card is plugged into a viewer's satellite box and controls which movie and sports channels each of the company's 11 million subscribers can watch.

The technology behind the cards is so sensitive that DirecTV kept the information encrypted in company computers. DirecTV said it spent more than $25 million to develop it.

Two other counts against Serebryany — for duplicating the documents and for transmitting them — were dropped as part of the plea agreement.

Serebryany remained free on bond Monday. His sentencing is set for Sept. 8.