Hackers Compromise Third-Party Android Set-Top Boxes in UAE to Send Information about Palestine Conflict

Hackers compromised TV set-top boxes across the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and replaced the regular content with images from the ongoing Gaza conflict.

over the takeover of TV channels to distribute information is relatively common. For example, just this summer, hackers compromised radio and TV broadcasts in several regions of Russia transmitting a fake message from President Vladimir Putin announcing martial law.

The hack in the UAE was a little different. According to a Khaleej Times report, UAE residents reported that the attack started Sunday night, as attackers took over European live channels and displayed a message over a green, Matrix-inspired background.

"We have no choice but to hack to deliver this message to you," read the received message. An AI generated anchor then began to provide information on Palestinian children and women in Israeli prisons.

Initial information suggests that the affected consumers were actually using third-party-built Android set-top boxes that provide unofficial access to various TV stations across the globe. This is likely why the attackers managed to compromise streams. In fact, the Khaleej Times revealed that the set-top box makers actually sent a message acknowledging the hack and promising a fix.

"Before I could grasp what was happening, I found myself watching a bespectacled AI anchor discussing the atrocities, accompanied by a ticker displaying the number of Palestinians killed and wounded so far. The videos were quite graphic, and I had children around," a viewer told the Khaleej Times. "I didn't want them exposed to it, but we were caught unprepared. Every channel we switched to displayed the same content."

The makers of the set-top box have yet to fix the issue, and the number of users of this hardware across the UAE is unknown.