YouTube music videos hacked

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Music videos hosted by the music hosting service Vevo, including those from Shakira, Selena Gomez, Drake and Taylor Swift, have been hacked to display different titles and cover images.

Details are currently quite sparse, but what we do is that hackers calling themselves Prosox and Kuroi’sh replaced video titles with their names and some political rhetoric.

A YouTube spokesperson told the BBC that "after seeing unusual upload activity on a handful of Vevo channels, we worked quickly with our partner to disable access while they investigate the issue.”

Vevo added: "We are working to reinstate all videos affected and our catalogue to be restored to full working order. We are continuing to investigate the source of the breach."

Mark James, ESET IT Security Specialist, talks about the potential impact of a hack like this and how end-users could be affected by scams which rely on trust.

“The problem with these types of hacks is the potential for damage. For YouTube it’s a brand and PR issue, regardless of whose fault or where the data is held the name being talked about is YouTube.

“For the artists it’s the personal damage of being involved in using their brand name for nefarious purposes, some YouTube videos collect hundreds of thousands, even millions of views, the ability to push information to all those viewers is massive and in some cases we could even see actions to trick the user into going to websites or following links.

“For the end user it’s about having the security measures in place in case you’re involved in a phishing attack or online scam.

“Utilising a good multi-layered internet security product and the usual awareness when browsing web pages or clicking any links associated with the internet.

“The end user may and often is influenced by the information they see, if they trust the digital persona like a pop star or “Youtuber” they may be more likely to be scammed or tricked into going somewhere that may be malicious.”

Have you seen videos hacked and edited like this in the past? Let us know on Twitter @ESETUK.