Particle.news
Download on the App Store

Google Dismantles 'YouTube Ghost Network' After 3,000 Malware Videos Flagged

Researchers say the modular, role-based scheme can quickly regenerate despite takedowns.

Overview

  • Check Point mapped a long-running operation dating to 2021 that tripled its output in 2025 before the removals.
  • Operators hijacked or created channels and split duties across video, post, and interact accounts to manufacture credibility through views, likes, and comments.
  • Tutorial-style videos pushed cracked software or Roblox cheats, instructing users to disable antivirus and download password-protected archives from Dropbox, Google Drive, or MediaFire.
  • Links often redirected through shorteners or Google Sites, Blogger, or Telegraph pages to deliver infostealers including Lumma, Rhadamanthys, StealC, RedLine, and Phemedrone.
  • Google removed more than 3,000 videos after the report, yet examples drew hundreds of thousands of views, attribution remains unconfirmed, and operators rotate links and payloads to persist.