Behind the Tech: How AI and Microsoft Security Copilot Are Transforming Piracy Response

At this year’s IBC held in Amsterdam 12-15 September 2025, SOUTHWORKS, Microsoft, and MediaKind  joined forces to deliver a new solution for one of the toughest challenges in media distribution: responding to piracy incidents.  

Combining forensic watermarking with Microsoft Security Copilot, live video streaming with MK.IO from MediaKind, and SOUTHWORKS engineering, this solution enables security teams to act faster, smarter, and with less manual effort to respond to piracy incidents.

Piracy Agent Solution Overview
The Piracy Agent solution accelerates the way piracy incidents are resolved by combining forensic watermarking insights with AI-driven security workflows. It enables content owners and distributors to respond to piracy events much faster by automating critical steps such as disabling illegal streams, shutting down compromised accounts, retrieving subscriber details, and escalating cases to ISPs for IP-level blocking. This end-to-end approach not only reduces the time and effort needed to address piracy but also gives security teams full visibility into the impact of each incident—ensuring faster response, smarter escalation, and stronger protection for valuable content.

From Overview to Action

Together, these capabilities set the foundation for a fundamentally new approach to piracy response—one that replaces fragmented, manual workflows with automated, intelligence-driven processes. To see this in practice, we can break down how Piracy Agent transforms a single detection event into a coordinated chain of actions.

A Smarter Way to Respond to Piracy: How the Piracy Agent Works in Practice

For years, handling piracy incidents has relied on slow, manual processes. By the time action was taken, the damage was often already done. This solution illustrates how AI can streamline and accelerate that response.

When a pirated stream is detected and the corresponding session is identified by leveraging forensic watermarking, Security Copilot orchestrates an automated chain of actions, including:

• Retrieving subscriber and stream details from the streaming platform and provider.

• Disabling the offending stream and shutting down the associated fraudulent account.

• Detecting and closing additional accounts tied to the same user, typically used to continue streaming even after the first account has been blocked.

• Escalating cases to ISPs for IP-level blocking when appropriate.

• Providing full visibility into accounts, subscribers, and IPs linked to the incident.

By eliminating repetitive manual steps, the solution enables security teams to respond faster while maintaining full visibility into every AI-driven action.

The Role of Microsoft Security Copilot

At the heart of the solution is Microsoft Security Copilot. Instead of creating and maintaining a separate application, the approach builds directly on Copilot’s secure platform and capabilities. This ensures:

• Future-proof resilience – continuous updates as Microsoft evolves threat detection, incident management, and protection features.

• Microsoft Defender Threat Intelligence integration – providing enriched context on malicious IP addresses, suspicious network activity, and attacker infrastructure to strengthen incident triage and escalation.

• Industry-grade compliance and certifications – including ISO, GDPR, SOC2, and more – aligned with Microsoft’s privacy, security, and compliance frameworks.

• Responsible AI – built-in transparency, explainability, and accountability for decision logic.

This foundation means distributors and rights holders can trust that their piracy response processes meet industry standards and will adapt to future threats.

Benefits That Matter

For media companies, the value of this approach is clear:

• Protect Revenue – Reduce losses from unauthorized distribution.

• Operational Efficiency – Eliminate repetitive manual tasks with automated workflows.

• Stronger Partnerships – Build trust with distributors and rights holders by acting quickly and decisively.

Building the Future of Secure Content Distribution

This collaboration between Microsoft, MediaKind, and SOUTHWORKS demonstrates how AI can elevate the way the industry responds to piracy. By combining forensic watermarking insights with Security Copilot’s secure foundation and the power of Agentic AI, we’re showing a path to faster, smarter, and more scalable incident response.

It’s a leap forward in how piracy events are managed with speed, precision, and intelligence.

To learn more about Piracy Agent, Security Copilot or how SOUTHWORKS and Microsoft are collaborating to help media businesses deploy agentic AI solutions that deliver competitive edge, get in touch at mediasolutions@southworks.com.  

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