By Gavin Boyle
Internet safety experts sound the alarm about a new hacking group spreading through YouTube videos that instruct users on how to download free software riddled with viruses.
“This operation took advantage of trust signals, including views, likes and comments, to make malicious content seem safe,” explained researcher Eli Smadja. “What looks like a helpful tutorial can actually be a polished cyber trap. The scale, modularity and sophistication of this network made it a blueprint for how threat actors now weaponize engagement tools to spread malware.”
The scam worked by targeting people searching for tutorials on YouTube for how to engage in sketchy and illegal activities such as downloading hacks for video games or free versions of software that should be paid for. These videos would be boosted to the top of the search field through viewbotting and fake likes and comments left by other accounts created by the scammers.
Related: Has Streaming Brought Piracy Back?
Viewers of these videos would then be directed to sites where they could download their desired software through links in the description that would take these users to sites run by the scammers that would download the content along with malware. If a victim’s computer detected malware and flagged the download, the YouTube videos would explain this away and instruct viewers to turn off their computer’s anti-virus defenses.
Some of these videos had over 100,000 views, and because the scammer’s network of fake accounts was so extensive, it was easy to get the scam back up and running anytime one of its videos was taken down.
While not many people are searching for free software or video game hacks, piracy in general is on the rise given the rising costs of streaming services and the increase in subscription-based software across the industry. While piracy was on the decline in the 2010s, it has made a comeback, and videos showing how the engage in the illegal act could very well be scamming its users in a similar way.
“[M]arket demands to make streaming services profitable have caused most of their owners to introduce ad-supported tiers and raise prices. Add to that the difficulty in finding a given title that you want to watch — there are many services but no single directory for identifying which service a title is on. This confluence of events has led many consumers back to the use of piracy sites,” attorney Rob Rosenberg, ex-Showtime Networks executive vice president, said in 2024.
The only real way to avoid falling victim to this scam is to not engage in this illegal activity in the first place. It is also a solid reminder for internet users to never click on sketchy links and certainly not to turn off their computer’s anti-virus when instructed to do so by someone they do not trust. It also highlights the continued need for digital literacy and knowledge on how to keep yourself safe while online.
Read Next: International Video Piracy: A Growing Threat and How to Combat It
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