Google's Threat Intelligence Group worked with industry partners to take down a botnet, dubbed XCPE, built from more than 1.3 million Android TV set-top boxes. Investigators traced the malware to Videostrong Technology Co., a Chinese manufacturer accused of preloading devices with backdoors that resold users' internet connections through residential proxy services and enabled advertising fraud. Google took legal action to seize the domains and servers used to control the botnet.
krebsonsecurity.com
· 2026-11-03
Google disclosed that Shenzhen-based manufacturer Videostrong Technology secretly embedded a backdoor into 1.3 million Android devices, mostly set-top boxes but also telehealth gear, karaoke machines and digital signage. Google says the backdoor was used for ad fraud, data exfiltration and routing unauthorized network traffic, and that it has dismantled the backdoor, disrupted related command-and-control domains, and banned Videostrong from building or supplying certified Android software.
theverge.com
· 2026-11-02
Google says Shenzhen-based manufacturer Videostrong Technology built a hidden backdoor into roughly 1.3 million Android devices, mostly set-top boxes but also telehealth gear, karaoke machines and digital signage. Google says it dismantled the backdoor, disrupted related command-and-control domains, and banned Videostrong from building or selling certified Android devices or software.
theverge.com
· 2026-11-02
Google and industry partners took down the XCPE malware botnet, which infected over 1.3 million Android TV streaming boxes made by China-based Videostrong Technology. Google says Videostrong deliberately built a persistent backdoor into its devices and sold access to criminal groups, who used the devices for ad fraud, residential proxy networks, and further malware installation. Google also shut down command-and-control servers tied to more than a dozen related malware families affecting over 10 million additional devices, including set-top boxes, karaoke machines, and telehealth hardware.
bleepingcomputer.com
· 2026-11-02
GoKawiil