Hackers have invented a way to use artificial intelligence to take over popular YouTube channels to upload their videos and use them to trick people into downloading malware. The number of videos containing malware has increased by 200-300 percent month-on-month.
Basically, you should avoid tutorial videos that claim to teach you how to download paid software such as Photoshop, Premiere Pro, AutoCAD, and other licensed versions. According to AI cybersecurity firm CloudSEK, this latest form of social engineering has been growing 200 to 300 percent each month.
These YouTube videos usually use a screenshot of a smart device or an audio walkthrough that describes the steps to download and install the cracked software. To give this further credibility, bad guys use platforms like Synthesia and D-ID to create AI-generated avatars with faces that are familiar and trustworthy to humans.
These videos contain links to malware such as Vidar, RedLine and Raccoon. So if you accidentally click on a link in the description, you could download malware that steals your passwords, credit card information, bank account numbers or other confidential data.
To reach as many people as possible, these hackers target channels with at least 100,000 subscribers to upload their videos. While usually an uploaded video is removed and the original owners gain access to their channel within a few hours, that’s still enough time for someone to click on the link.
Source: Android Authority
