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Hackers Are Taking Over Chromecasts To Promote a YouTube Channel (theverge.com)

Posted by BeauHD on from the device-vulnerabilities dept.

In what is being referred to as CastHack, hackers j3ws3r and HackerGiraffe are promoting Felix "PewDiePie" Kjellberg by forcing TVs to display a message encouraging people to subscribe to his YouTube channel. "The hack takes advantage of a router setting that makes smart devices, like Chromecasts and Google Homes, publicly viewable on the internet," reports The Verge. "The attackers are then able to gain control of the devices and broadcast videos on a connected TV." From the report: A website for the attack claims to count the number of TVs forced to show the PewDiePie message and currently says more than 3,000 have been affected. While it's not clear that this is an accurate number (it has reset several times), a number of people posted on Reddit that the video had appeared on their TV. Google tells The Verge it has received reports from people who had "an unauthorized video played on their TVs via a Chromecast device," but said the issue was the result of router settings. Both HackerGiraffe and Google told The Verge the best way for affected users to fix the issue is to turn off Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) on their routers. The two hackers said they were behind a hack in November that forced printers around the world to print out sheets of paper telling people to subscribe to PewDiePie.

4 of 90 comments (clear)

  1. Impressive... by fuzzyfuzzyfungus · · Score: 3, Insightful

    This story of spammers trying to drum up support for the incumbent puerile attention whore of youtube almost makes me think that the Iranian social media crackdown will do them some good.

    And that takes some doing. Good work guys.

    1. Re:Impressive... by Barny · · Score: 1, Insightful

      Ugh. Out of mod points, but I'll sit here and think really positive thoughts at you for a minute, okay?

      --
      ...
      /me sighs
  2. Opposite take, liking the vulnerability exposure by SuperKendall · · Score: 4, Insightful

    I really don't care to watch PewDiePie at all (I tried a little, once).

    However the actions of his hacking subscription army exposing the absolute dismal state of the Internet Of Thangs has me absolutely cheering him on and wishing for more, and more and more similar activity until even the least technical person says "wait a minute" to installing new network connected devices.

    --
    "There is more worth loving than we have strength to love." - Brian Jay Stanley
  3. Facepalm .... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    The hack takes advantage of a router setting that makes smart devices, like Chromecasts and Google Homes, publicly viewable on the internet

    And this is what is wrong with the internet, these devices require shit like this.

    No, fuck you and your smart device which demands an insecure network.

    Fucking hell people are idiots. Publicly viewable on the internet? Really? Is this 1998?