In YouTube videos from November 2022, the researchers detected stealer malware such as Vidar, RedLine and Raccoon
A massive 200-300 per cent spike in YouTube videos containing links to malware that can steal sensitive financial data from the computers have been discovered by cyber-security researchers, they said on Monday.
Making it an easy target for threat actors, YouTube is a popular platform with over 2.5 billion active monthly users, said AI cyber-security firm CloudSEK.
Termed Infostealers, these malware are spread via malicious downloads, fake websites and YouTube tutorials, infiltrate systems and steal information, which is uploaded to the attacker’s Command and Control server.
“In a concerning trend, these threat actors are now utilising AI-generated videos to amplify their reach, and YouTube has become a convenient platform for their distribution,” said Pavan Karthick, a CloudSEK researcher.
The research showed that every hour 5-10 crack software download videos with malicious links are uploaded to YouTube.
Making it challenging for the YouTube algorithm to identify and remove them, the videos contain deceptive tactics that mislead users into downloading malware.
In YouTube videos from November 2022, the researchers detected stealer malware such as Vidar, RedLine and Raccoon. These can steal passwords, credit card information, bank account numbers, and other confidential data.
These videos pretend to be tutorials on downloading cracked versions of licensed software, such as Adobe Photoshop, Premiere Pro, Autodesk 3ds Max, AutoCAD, and others, available only to paid users, said the report.
The threat actors also add fake comments to give legitimacy to the video.
“These comments trick users into believing the malware is legitimate. Moreover, using AI-generated videos featuring personas that appear more familiar and trustworthy is a growing trend among threat actors,” the report mentioned.
Also read: Technology is always much ahead of your comprehension
Do Follow: CIO News LinkedIn Account | CIO News Facebook | CIO News Youtube | CIO News Twitter
About us:
CIO News, a proprietary of Mercadeo, produces award-winning content and resources for IT leaders across any industry through print articles and recorded video interviews on topics in the technology sector such as Digital Transformation, Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), Cloud, Robotics, Cyber-security, Data, Analytics, SOC, SASE, among other technology topics
