Compelling analysis reframes online piracy as a large-scale cyber risk to ordinary households. According to research by Enders Analysis, pirate streaming apps and devices increasingly act as an entry point into home networks: over 50% of piracy apps and streaming devices are estimated to contain malware known as ResProxy, with some recent samples testing higher. This malware can enrol a household’s internet connection into a criminal residential-proxy network, where its IP address is used to mask fraud, credential theft and other illicit activity.
For consumers, the consequences are direct — exposure to data theft, identity fraud, financial crime and surveillance, alongside a degraded “digital quality of life” as a flagged IP address triggers more CAPTCHAs, blocked sites and failed payments. The infographic below summarises the main findings.
Source: Enders Analysis, Video piracy: Big tech is clearly unwilling to address the problem (Report 2025‑054), May 2025.
