The hack takes advantage of a router setting that makes smart devices publicly viewable on the internet. Hackers can tthen take control of the devices, giving them access to information as well as a certain number of actions. This includes the broadcast of the aforementioned message. The exploit is being referred to as CastHack, probably due to Google’s Chromecast being one of the vulnerable devices. Google told The Verge that it isn’t a Chromecast issue, but rather an issue that affects the router settings. The fix for this is to simply turn off the Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) feature of routers.
While the video message has since been removed, HackerGiraffe has also said “if you’re port forwarding ports 8008/8443/8009 then STOP forwarding them.” This isn’t the first time HackGiraffe and j3ws3r have openly confessed to a hack attack. Two months ago, the pair was responsible for another hacking incident that saw printers forcibly printing a similar message – subscribe to PewDiePie. (Source: HackerGiraffe, The Verge)
