Piracy, whether it is committed on the high seas, or the vast realm of the internet is theft. Now whether or not digital files or intellectual property can be defined as property to be stolen is open to interpretation, but the basic appeal of piracy has remained unchanged, plunder unsuspecting victims, and sail away, knowing that the authorities have little chance of cornering you and bringing you to book. As a result, piracy, though not a victimless crime is a relatively safe one and one in which the rewards far outweigh the potential dangers, and in a world where the internet is essentially a non-enforceable space, piracy is destined to stay.

Assuming that those who advocate that digital files and intellectual property are property and can indeed be stolen are right, then those who download or copy that information are engaged in piracy. However, the large measure of anonymity the internet provides, combined with the sheer number of people engaging in the same activity both legally and illegally i.e. paying for the right to download/copy information prevents authorities from conducting effective countermeasures or prosecuting guilty parties. As a result modern day pirates like their historical counterparts can essentially disappear, just as past authorities could not stop every passing ship on suspicion of piracy, modern authorities cannot monitor the internet or every internet user for piracy.

Moreover, the key factor that defeated the pirates of old was technology. As modern navies could equip their ships with new technologies such as steam power, pirates were unable to upgrade their ships or steal one. Therefore, pirates who did not retire were hunted down and destroyed. Although pirates continued to operate, they did so in constant fear of being discovered and outgunned.  However, the tool that led to the downfall of maritime pirates has in turn become a vital tool for digital pirates to evade prosecution and aid their activities.  With the advent of the digital era, technology was no longer the sole possession of governments and the average person could access it and improve upon it. Consequently, those who use encryption to safeguard their digital information know that there is no level of encryption that cannot be bypassed or hacked by anyone with access to a computer. So in a cruel twist, modern pirates have used technology against those who benefitted from its use in defeating their past brethren.

Subsequently, the allure of easy profit, combined with a minimal chance of being caught, with the availability of new technology ensures that the modern day digital pirate can succeed where his past counterpart failed and reap the benefits of their plundering.