Thousands of YouTube videos disguised as cheat codes removed for spreading malware

• YouTube has removed 3,000 malicious videos disguised as 'Cracked software'
• These were used to spread malware and infostealers like Lumma
• The network used fake positive engagement to garner trust

Google has removed a 3,000 strong network of malicious YouTube videos used to spread malware.

Check Point Research says it discovered the ‘YouTube Ghost Network’ - a ‘sophisticated and coordinated’ campaign of videos which took advantage of YouTube's features to promote its own harmful content.

The videos were primarily disguised as ‘Game Hack/Cheat’ and ‘Software Cracks/Piracy’ - areas with a large viewership that often encouraged the audience to download software. Such ‘cracked’ software is illegal, and these downloads often contain malware.