A group of hackers attacked the web site of the children TV channel Cartoon Network, eliminating its normal content and replacing it with images and videos of a renowned Brazilian stripper; according to cybersecurity specialists, this attack was visible in at least 15 different countries.
Cartoon Network had to deface its entire websites as well as video players from the affected areas, while completing its cybersecurity incident recovery process.
According to cybersecurity specialists, two Brazilian hackers were responsible for the attack by exploiting a known vulnerability in the Cartoon Network’s website control platform. The attack took place on April 25th, and the content posted by hackers remained online throughout the past weekend. Finally, the company began to receive complaints from the users on April 28, the same day the inappropriate content was deleted.
Administrators of some of the affected sites, such as Cartoon Network Russia and Cartoon Network UK posted statements about the incident, mentioning that the websites would be temporarily inactive, adding that the company’s teams are working to restore the service as soon as possible.
According to reports from cybersecurity specialists, the attack affected visitors to the Cartoon Network website in countries such as Brazil, Germany, Mexico, Italy, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom, as well as some Arab territories.
Experts from the International Institute of Cyber Security (IICS) say that hackers perform this kind of attacks with political motivations, as forms of revenge or as part of cyber-activism campaigns, but so far, Brazilian hackers’ motivations to attack this platform primarily used by children are still unknown.
A couple of months ago, a group of hackers tried to remove the content of a page belonging to The Wall Street Journal for the purpose of promoting a support campaign for the famous YouTube content creator, PewDiePie, who is looking to become the first YouTuber to reach the 100 million subscribers.
He is a well-known expert in mobile security and malware analysis. He studied Computer Science at NYU and started working as a cyber security analyst in 2003. He is actively working as an anti-malware expert. He also worked for security companies like Kaspersky Lab. His everyday job includes researching about new malware and cyber security incidents. Also he has deep level of knowledge in mobile security and mobile vulnerabilities.
