Could your TV become a “zombie”? We know it sounds like something that would only happen in the movies. But, don’t worry, it doesn’t mean that he will start walking and looking for something to eat.
In reality, your device could be in danger of being controlled by malware, along with others, to carry out cyber attacks. The company specialized in cybersecurity, ESET, identified a Trojan distributed in some television streaming applications, whose main target is Latin America.
At Tech Bit we tell you what it is about and how you can protect yourself.
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The latest ESET Threat Report discovered a new variant of the Mirai botnet. Her name is Pandora. This network of computers controlled by hackers allows them to carry out multiple actions such as sending spam, stealing data or launching DDoS attacks.
Photo: Pinterest
According to the company specialized in cybersecurity, this Trojan-type malware appeared for the first time in September 2023. It has been distributed through streaming apps from websites for pirated content such as Tele Latino, You Cine and Magis TV available for Android Tv Boxes and TV Sticks from companies like Amazon and Xiaomi.
Likewise, attacks have been recorded through malicious firmware updates previously installed by a reseller, as well as by the user himself.
TV Boxes and sticks, the main targets of this type of malware, can help transform a TV into a smart device, as well as keep one that already is one updated.
Photo: Pinterest
When devices running Android TV Boxes and sticks are infected with these apps, hackers can take control of them to launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks. Thus they become one more of the “zombies” to produce other threats.
Latin America is the main target of this type of attacks. Among the top 3 of the most affected countries, Brazil stands out with 20%, followed by Mexico with 13% and Peru with 11%.
In these types of situations, it is best to prevent. That is why ESET offers a couple of recommendations to users to protect their online activity:
- Use strong and unique passwords.
- Keep devices up to date.
- Research the app you want to install in detail, you can check the comments to be more sure.
- Avoid rooting your device as it can give cyber attackers an advantage.
- Be careful when updating the firmware.
- Install a reliable security solution to detect and remove threats.
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2024-01-18 22:02:33
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