A new study revealed that in the race to be among the first to watch the new episode of a popular online series, or simply to cut down on the cost of purchasing a legit streaming app or device, users are exposing themselves to malicious software. All the pirated streaming devices and apps steal user data.
According to Digital Citizens investigation, piracy apps on jailbroken devices, which resemble legit Fire TV Sticks or Apple TV, are in fact, laden with malware that steals usernames and passwords on the pretext of offering pirated movies and live programmes.
Timber Wolfe, principle at Dark Wolfe Consulting found in his research that if the hardware isn’t laced with malware then the apps are.
Viewers are moving towards streaming devices to watch live shows, sports and new movies. People are using Apple TVs, Fire TVs, Chromecasts and Rokus. Black market sellers have capitalized on cord-cutters by offering pirated alternatives.
These pirated streaming devices link to pirated apps instead of linking to legitimate services such as Netflix or Hulu. The investigation also revealed an illegal scheme to monetize stolen Netflix accounts and ads for premium brands on pirate apps. Surprisingly, there are 12 million active users of these illicit devices in North America alone.
These devices aren’t available in stores. However you can find these on the Facebook market, eBay and other popular sites.
Not just that, these are sold at flea market & malls also at $75 to $100 only. They allure people by promising free live streaming of sports and shows and also the latest movies.
Researchers found that cybercriminals have taken notice, by targeting these bootleg boxes with malware.
FCC issued an enforcement advisory warning that they are fining up to $19,639 per day both people selling these streaming boxes and people using.
