Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild

Technologies providing copyright-infringing IPTV content are commonly used as an illegal alternative to legal IPTV subscriptions and services, as they usually have lower monetary costs and can be more convenient for users who follow content from different sources. These infringing IPTV technologies...

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Main Authors: Adam Lockett, Ioannis Chalkias, Cagatay Yucel, Jane Henriksen-Bulmer, Vasilis Katos
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2023-09-01
Series:Future Internet
Subjects:
Online Access:https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/15/10/325
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author Adam Lockett
Ioannis Chalkias
Cagatay Yucel
Jane Henriksen-Bulmer
Vasilis Katos
author_facet Adam Lockett
Ioannis Chalkias
Cagatay Yucel
Jane Henriksen-Bulmer
Vasilis Katos
author_sort Adam Lockett
collection DOAJ
description Technologies providing copyright-infringing IPTV content are commonly used as an illegal alternative to legal IPTV subscriptions and services, as they usually have lower monetary costs and can be more convenient for users who follow content from different sources. These infringing IPTV technologies may include websites, software, software add-ons, and physical set-top boxes. Due to the free or low cost of illegal IPTV technologies, illicit IPTV content providers will often resort to intrusive advertising, scams, and the distribution of malware to increase their revenue. We developed an automated solution for collecting and analysing malware from illegal IPTV technologies and used it to analyse a sample of illicit IPTV websites, application (app) stores, and software. Our results show that our IPTV Technologies Malware Analysis Framework (IITMAF) classified 32 of the 60 sample URLs tested as malicious compared to running the same test using publicly available online antivirus solutions, which only detected 23 of the 60 sample URLs as malicious. Moreover, the IITMAF also detected malicious URLs and files from 31 of the sample’s websites, one of which had reported ransomware behaviour.
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spelling doaj.art-971c3558e9994e35920accb13f1f1fae2023-11-16T10:28:25ZengMDPI AGFuture Internet1999-59032023-09-01151032510.3390/fi15100325Investigating IPTV Malware in the WildAdam Lockett0Ioannis Chalkias1Cagatay Yucel2Jane Henriksen-Bulmer3Vasilis Katos4Department of Computing & Informatics, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Wallisdown, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKCentre for Research and Technology Hellas, Information Technologies Institute, 570 01 Thessaloniki, GreeceDepartment of Computing & Informatics, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Wallisdown, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKDepartment of Computing & Informatics, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Wallisdown, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKDepartment of Computing & Informatics, Faculty of Science & Technology, Bournemouth University, Fern Barrow, Wallisdown, Dorset BH12 5BB, UKTechnologies providing copyright-infringing IPTV content are commonly used as an illegal alternative to legal IPTV subscriptions and services, as they usually have lower monetary costs and can be more convenient for users who follow content from different sources. These infringing IPTV technologies may include websites, software, software add-ons, and physical set-top boxes. Due to the free or low cost of illegal IPTV technologies, illicit IPTV content providers will often resort to intrusive advertising, scams, and the distribution of malware to increase their revenue. We developed an automated solution for collecting and analysing malware from illegal IPTV technologies and used it to analyse a sample of illicit IPTV websites, application (app) stores, and software. Our results show that our IPTV Technologies Malware Analysis Framework (IITMAF) classified 32 of the 60 sample URLs tested as malicious compared to running the same test using publicly available online antivirus solutions, which only detected 23 of the 60 sample URLs as malicious. Moreover, the IITMAF also detected malicious URLs and files from 31 of the sample’s websites, one of which had reported ransomware behaviour.https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/15/10/325malware analysiscyber threat intelligenceIPTVdigital investigations
spellingShingle Adam Lockett
Ioannis Chalkias
Cagatay Yucel
Jane Henriksen-Bulmer
Vasilis Katos
Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild
Future Internet
malware analysis
cyber threat intelligence
IPTV
digital investigations
title Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild
title_full Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild
title_fullStr Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild
title_full_unstemmed Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild
title_short Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild
title_sort investigating iptv malware in the wild
topic malware analysis
cyber threat intelligence
IPTV
digital investigations
url https://www.mdpi.com/1999-5903/15/10/325
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