Google has officially terminated its partnership with the Android TV manufacturer Videostrong. The decision follows the discovery of unauthorized backdoors pre-installed on approximately 1.3 million set-top boxes produced by the company.
According to Google, Videostrong sold access to these infected devices to criminal groups. The compromised hardware was utilized as a botnet to facilitate ad fraud and operate as a residential proxy network.
The malicious software was integrated directly into various device models over several years. By 2024, the malware had evolved into a sophisticated three-stage system designed to evade detection and maintain persistence.
As a result of these findings, Google has banned Videostrong from manufacturing devices that include preloaded Google applications. Despite this, the open-source nature of Android allows the manufacturer to continue using the OS.
