Preprint Article Version 1 Preserved in Portico This version is not peer-reviewed

Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild

Version 1 : Received: 31 July 2023 / Approved: 1 August 2023 / Online: 2 August 2023 (05:29:15 CEST)

A peer-reviewed article of this Preprint also exists.

Lockett, A.; Chalkias, I.; Yucel, C.; Henriksen-Bulmer, J.; Katos, V. Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild. Future Internet 2023, 15, 325. Lockett, A.; Chalkias, I.; Yucel, C.; Henriksen-Bulmer, J.; Katos, V. Investigating IPTV Malware in the Wild. Future Internet 2023, 15, 325.

Abstract

Technologies providing copyright-infringing IPTV content are a 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 the users that 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 anti-virus solutions, which only detected 23 of the 60 sample URLs as malicious. Moreover, the IITMAF framework also detected malicious URLs and files from 31 of the sample’s websites, one of which had reported ransomware behaviour.

Keywords

Malware Analysis; Cyber Threat Intelligence; IPTV; Digital Investigations

Subject

Computer Science and Mathematics, Security Systems

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