Dodgy box users in Ireland given another major warning after cyberattack

Dodgy box usage seems to be at an all-time high

According to Grant Thornton Ireland, the attack was prompted by Kimwolf, a botnet made up of Android-enabled TVs and streaming devices, that are targeting the hundreds of thousands of dodgy box devices in Irish homes.

With Fire Stick usage on the rise, reports in UK and Ireland suggest that most sports fans believe it is fine to illegal stream action.

People caught distributing the illegal streaming devices, or watching them, could face fines of up to £50,000 and time in prison in the UK.

In the UK, the Sport Industry Report showed that 66 per cent of sports professionals, and 58 per cent of the regular population believe illegal streaming to be “acceptable”.

In Ireland, a similar study found that there were 490 million visits to piracy websites in 2024, and that dodgy box usage is in between 320,000 and 400,000 households.

But as well as fines, the lack of security on users' devices could cost households dear.

Howard Shortt, Cybersecurity Partner at Grant Thornton Ireland, said: "Many people don't realise that a low-cost Android TV box in their sitting room or a cheap smart lightbulb can be compromised in seconds," said

"Once attackers gain access, they can use that device as part of a botnet or quietly profile the household to support more targeted and convincing phishing attacks.

"Attackers typically exploit default passwords, outdated software, or unpatched vulnerabilities in internet-connected devices and once inside a home network, can observe traffic patterns and build a profile of the household.

"That information allows criminals to engineer highly believable phishing messages. For example, posing as a streaming provider with a prompt to review a show you have just watched."