Hackers Abuse YouTube Gaming Channels and SEO Poisoning to Deploy RATs and Chrome Hijacker

Hackers are turning ordinary searches and gaming videos into malware traps. A long-running campaign used YouTube channels and search-engine manipulation to steer victims toward installers that looked like useful software, game tools or performance fixes. The activity is tied to a pay-per-install operation known as CL-CRI-1171. This model gives other criminals a route into compromised machines, allowing unrelated malware to arrive through the same harmless download. Unit 42 analysts identified the operation after investigating two low-priority infections at separate organizations. Their findings show how a loader resembling routine adware can hide a far broader delivery service, reaching gamers and corporate or government endpoints. The scale is a central concern. Researchers found over…