Student Pleads Guilty in DirectTV Scam

A University of Chicago student pleaded guilty Monday to stealing trade secrets of DirecTV's most advanced anti-piracy technology, which later surfaced on a hacker Web site.

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.

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

Serebryany 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 programming provider, according to the U.S. attorney's office.

The documents were being reviewed by the law firm as part of a civil suit. Serebryany got access to them while working part time for an imaging firm hired to make electronic copies of court papers.

The college sophomore stole copies of the documents on computer disks and then forwarded them to a Web host for a hacker Web site, said Assistant U.S. Attorney James W. Spertus.

"His intent was to have the material posted and made available to the hacking community," Spertus said.

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.

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

"He took full responsibility for his actions," Marino said. "He has learned a life-altering lesson, which carries permanent consequences to his future and the loss of his civil liberties."

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