Russian Speaking Hackers Attack YouTube Channels to Livestream Crypto Scams, Google's Threat Analysis Group Reports

Urian B., Tech Times 25 October 2021, 01:10 am

Hackers who speak Russian were found sparking a new wave of attacks in order to livestream crypto scams. Google's Tech Analysis Group reports that the hackers would attack certain YouTube channels in order to do this.

Google Threat Analysis Shares Attack on YouTube Channels

According to a story by CoinGape, new reports coming from Google's Threat Analysis states that there has actually been quite a wave of attacks directly on YouTube channels. These attacks then rebrand their victim in order to live-stream crypto-related scams.

TAG notes that the attacks are actually being carried out by a group of different Russian-speaking hackers that were recruited from a forum. These hackers then sell the already hacked YouTube channels to the highest bidder.

Ongoing Phishing Campaign

The whole mode of operation of these particular hackers in the whole ongoing phishing campaign that is being made against certain YouTube creators is that they would actually offer fake collaborations to the real channel owner. This would then result in the channels being compromised then eventually being sold off in order to livestream crypto scams.

So far, there have been a number of channels that the hackers have already managed to control. These channels have been rebranded in a certain way that they'll be broadcasting the whole cryptocurrency scam.

Hackers Selling Compromised Channels for Up to $4,000

Hackers then reportedly sell the hijacked channels for prices that range from $3 all the way to $4,000. With the whole prices depending on the actual number of subscribers that are on the channel. Not all hackers and scammers, however, are successful.

In fact, the famed REvil ransomware group that was responsible for the colonial pipeline hack actually met their match when they tried to threaten Apple. REvil ransomware group tried to threaten Apple but then mysteriously deleted the documents and extortion files.

REvil Ransomware 0_neday

There have been talks of REvil ransomware ending its activity but researchers remain skeptical about the latest shutdown. The ransomware group's 0_neday even stated "I'm off."

The reports note that the hacks are reportedly being carried out through the use of cookie theft malware. This is a fake software that has reportedly been configured to be able to run undetected on a victim's own computer.

Access to Victim's YouTube Channels

After being able to gain access to the victim's account successfully, the hackers would then proceed to change their names, display pictures, and also the whole content of the YouTube channels. This is in order to mirror big cryptocurrency exchange firms as well as large tech companies.

In this particular event, the hacker actually was found to broadcast some videos promising giving out crypto giveaways after viewers would first make an initial contribution, as per Google. The company has also ever since shared the above information along with the Federal Bureau of Investigation or FBI of the United States in order to investigate even more deeply.

This article is owned by Tech Times

Written by Urian B.