Kaspersky Lab specialists discovered on the YouTube platform a new scheme for distributing dangerous files under the guise of gaming content.
Fraudsters upload video instructions to YouTube on how to download a popular game for free, and link to a malicious RAR archive in the description of the video. If you download it, it will immediately begin to self-extract.
According to Kaspersky Lab, the archive contains the RedLine program. It is often used to steal logins, passwords and other personal data of users. In addition, RedLine may download third-party programs.
YouTube video hosting is a “very cozy platform” for various kinds of scammers, IT expert Ilya Kostunov believes.
“Platform moderators often turn a blind eye to dangerous content, and also ignore official requests from government authorities to remove certain destructive materials. Virus distributors and other scammers simply take advantage of the mess that is happening on video hosting, ”the expert explained in an interview with Reedus.
“The attackers create attractive videos, promise mountains of gold, but their main goal is to convince the user to install a dubious application. Further, criminals can steal money from a person’s accounts or use his computer as a network element to carry out large hacker attacks,” Ilya Kostunov added.
Earlier, a member of the Civic Chamber of the Russian Federation, the director of the Safe Internet League, Ekaterina Mizulina, told how the YouTube recommendation algorithm imposes fake Russophobic content on Russian teenagers.