Backdoored firmware turned 1.3 million TV boxes into proxy nodes
Daily Cyber News: Shutting the Door on the XCPE Botnet | Google Cloud Blog
More than 1.3 million Android TV boxes were enrolled in a botnet through malware built into their firmware. The backdoor sold access to criminal affiliates, which used infected devices for residential proxy services, advertising fraud and the delivery of additional malware. Disruption efforts targeted the control infrastructure and may sever access to at least 10 million other compromised devices.
Key context: For leaders, the risk is that low-cost connected equipment can quietly expose a trusted network connection to outside abuse.
Additional detail: The manufacturer was banned from producing certified devices with preloaded Google applications.
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Topics: cybersecurity news, cybersecurity, cyber risk, malware, supply chain, XCPE Botnet, Google Cloud Blog.
