Vietnam Arrests Suspects Behind HiAnime Anime Piracy Service
What happened
Vietnamese authorities arrested and are prosecuting seven suspects believed to have operated HiAnime, one of the world’s largest anime piracy streaming services before it was shut down in June. HiAnime offered a large library of English-subtitled and dubbed anime without subscription fees and reportedly drew several hundred million visitors each month, at times surpassing legal streaming services such as Disney+ and Crunchyroll in web traffic.
The service originally launched under the Zoro.to domain, rebranded to Aniwatch in July 2023, and later became HiAnime/H!Anime in March 2024 using the HiAnime.to domain. Its scale drew international attention, including placement on the European Commission’s Counterfeit and Piracy Watch List and the United States Trade Representative’s Notorious Markets list.
The seven defendants were charged with infringing copyright and related rights, as well as money laundering. Four were detained, while three were placed under house arrest. Authorities accused the group of creating more than 100 websites to upload over 26,000 pirated anime films and generating about $12.85 million in illegal advertising revenue between 2020 and April 2026.
The Alliance for Creativity and Entertainment confirmed the law enforcement action and credited Vietnam’s Ministry of Public Security, including its economic crimes and cybersecurity units. ACE also thanked Homeland Security Investigations and the U.S. Department of Justice for supporting the multi-year investigation.
Who is affected
The arrested suspects and alleged operators of HiAnime are directly affected by the criminal charges and prosecution in Vietnam.
Anime studios, distributors, streaming platforms, and rights holders are also affected because HiAnime allegedly hosted and distributed tens of thousands of pirated anime titles without authorization.
Users of HiAnime are affected because the service was shut down, while similar piracy platforms may face increased enforcement as global anti-piracy coalitions and law enforcement agencies continue targeting large-scale illegal streaming operations.
Why CISOs should care
This is primarily an anti-piracy and law enforcement story, but it still matters to security leaders because illegal streaming ecosystems often rely on complex web infrastructure, advertising networks, payment flows, domain rotation, and cross-border hosting.
The case also shows how cybercrime, copyright infringement, and financial investigation can overlap. Authorities charged the suspects not only with copyright-related offenses but also with money laundering, highlighting the financial infrastructure behind large piracy services.
For CISOs in media, entertainment, gaming, and streaming, the takedown reinforces the need to monitor impersonation, unauthorized distribution, traffic diversion, and brand misuse across piracy ecosystems.
The international coordination angle also matters. ACE credited Vietnamese authorities, U.S. Homeland Security Investigations, and the U.S. Department of Justice, showing that large digital enforcement actions increasingly depend on multi-country cooperation.
3 practical actions
Monitor piracy and impersonation ecosystems: Media and entertainment CISOs should track unauthorized domains, rebrands, mirror sites, and traffic patterns that may misuse their content, brands, or customer trust.
Coordinate legal, security, and anti-abuse teams: HiAnime allegedly operated more than 100 websites and generated millions in ad revenue. Organizations should combine threat intelligence, copyright enforcement, infrastructure tracking, and legal escalation when investigating large piracy networks.
Assess third-party ad and traffic exposure: Piracy platforms often monetize through advertising and redirect ecosystems. Security teams should watch for brand abuse, malicious ads, scam redirects, and infrastructure links that may expose users to broader cyber risk.
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