Careful! Researcher Says Cybercriminals Are Actively Spreading Trojans On Service Under The Guise Of Netflix

JAKARTA - Kaspersky researchers found that cybercriminals were spreading Trojan and collecting victim's personal data under the guise of a popular streaming service twice as much.

Because today's movie buffs prefer streaming services over going to the movies, that's why these services are so actively used by cybercriminals.

When downloading malicious programs instead of streaming apps, users will lose their accounts, credentials and payment data.

In seeking alternative sources to download streaming apps or show episodes, users are confronted with various types of malware, including Trojans, spyware, and backdoors, as well as adware.

By 2022, 35% of users face threats under the guise of streaming platforms infected by Trojans. This is many times more than adware (15%), which is designed to display unwanted ads on the screen.

This comparison of numbers means that by downloading programs from suspicious sites, the risk of losing personal data, accounts and money is greater than simply the appearance of unwanted ads.

Among the most popular streaming platforms, cybercriminals are most actively taking advantage of Netflix. Kaspersky revealed, almost 80% of users face threats under the guise of this streaming service by downloading it from unknown sources.

In comparison, the number of users attempting to download malicious or unwanted programs under the guise of Hulu or Disney+ was eight times lower.

In addition to other unwanted or malicious programs, cybercriminals create mass phishing pages to steal victims' personal information and credit card details.

They are actively following trends and in an effort to gain users' trust and attention, they use images from the latest popular TV series, for example, House of the Dragon by HBO.

One of the rare scam schemes discovered by Kaspersky is offering users to scan a QR code in order to win an annual subscription.

After scanning the code, victims are redirected to a phishing page, where they are asked to enter personal data, login information to the streaming service account, and payment data.

“The era of streaming platforms has given cybercriminals more room for fraud and other malicious schemes,” said Vasily M. Kolesnikov, security expert at Kaspersky in a statement received in Jakarta.

According to him, streaming services are now producing their own films and series that can only be watched on certain platforms.

But unfortunately, not all users are willing to pay for a subscription. Therefore, they are looking for a way to download new episodes of the desired series for free on third-party sites, which can be risky.

"Especially now, under the guise of streaming services, attackers most often spread Trojans, stealing your personal data, accounts, and money from credit cards," Vasily explained.