Tech Firms Dismantle Botnet That Turned 1.3M TV Boxes Into Proxies
Source Krebs on Security
Description
A botnet named XCPE, composed of over 1.3 million Android TV set-top boxes infected with malware, was dismantled by Google and industry partners. The malware covertly rented out users' Internet connections as residential proxies for criminal activities such as advertising fraud and account takeover. The botnet also infected other Android-based IoT devices including healthcare devices and karaoke machines. The malware was intentionally pre-installed by the manufacturer Videostrong Technology Co., which Google has legally acted against. The takedown is expected to disrupt access to over 10 million additional compromised devices. Several residential proxy providers were implicated in the operation of this botnet. Google has since addressed the security weaknesses exploited by Videostrong.