Beware of Aurora Stealer, a malware that loves your private data. This malware hides in YouTube videos, specifically in the description of some content. Here’s what we know about him.
YouTube is prized by hackers for scams. Recently, researchers discovered that scammers rely on artificial intelligence. But today, the streaming platform is used to distribute malware called Aurora Stealer that steals your sensitive information. Here’s what we know about this malware that surfaced last year.
Read > YouTube: downloading videos banned in Germany, will France follow?
Malware hidden in the description of YouTube videos
Aurora Stealer is causing havoc on YouTube, enough to catch the attention of cybersecurity researchers at Morphisec. If the streaming service does not host the malware, download links hide in the description of some videos pretending to be the affiliate or a download link, for example. When a victim clicks on one of the links, fake sites pass off Aurora Stealer as safe software.
A method as old as the world but it is clear that it still works. Once on the victim’s machine, Aurora Stealer steals its sensitive information while creating executables to be undetectable. We are talking about the theft of cryptocurrencies or the passwords of those affected.
Aurora Stealer has rapidly grown in popularity over the past few months as a lot of hackers pay off $250/month (or $1500 for lifetime use) to use it.
Read > YouTube: the famous Linus Tech Tips channel deleted by the platform following a hack by an Elon Musk fan
How do I not get hacked by Aurora Stealer?
As always, exercise caution when going into the description of videos. All the more so when it comes to little-viewed content with too enticing promises such as free access to licensed software via an executable. In general, it smells bad.
Better bewareDon’t install anything on your machine if you have any doubts. Aurora Stealer can do great damage and it would be a shame to take unnecessary risks.
