Google's Threat Analysis Group (TAG) in its latest published bulletin, provides an outline of the entire “coordinated influence operation” that its staff tracked in January 2022 involving multiple countries.
According to Google TAG, four YouTube channels, two AdSense accounts, 1 Blogger blog, and 6 domains – used to generate revenue by displaying advertisements – were wiped out in coordinated influence operations linked to Belarus, Moldova, and Ukraine. The campaign "was sharing content in English that was about a variety of topics including US and European current events," threat analysts explained.
To mitigate the spread of misinformation, Google TAG terminated 3 YouTube channels responsible for uploading content in Arabic that was critical of former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir and supportive of the 2019 Sudanese coup d’état.
Additionally, Google TAG also handled a relatively large "influence operation linked to China." Earlier this year in January, threat analysts terminated 4,361 YouTube channels for spreading Chinese spam content. However, some channels uploaded content in both English and Chinese languages concerning China and US foreign events.
“We terminated 4361 YouTube channels as part of our ongoing investigation into coordinated influence operations linked to China. These channels mostly uploaded spammy content in Chinese about music, entertainment, and lifestyle. A very small subset uploaded content in Chinese and English about China and U.S. foreign affairs. These findings are consistent with our previous reports,” says Google.
Furthermore, Google TAG has banned YouTube channels, AdSense accounts, and Play developer accounts belonging to influence campaigns linked to Iraq, Turkey, and Libya's politics and current affairs.
As the Russian-Ukraine conflict continues to escalate, Google has strengthened the safety measures for those in the region considered to be at higher risk of cyber assaults or attempted account compromise. This includes enabling two-factor authentication (2FA) and promoting the Advanced Protection Program.
"Threat intel teams continue to look out for and disrupt disinfo campaigns, hacking, and financially motivated abuse, and are working with other companies and relevant government bodies to address these threats.,” Google said on Twitter.
Last year, Google TAG blocked 3 YouTube channels used by Iranian attackers to publish content in Bosnian and Arabic condemning the actions of the U.S. and the People’s Mujahedin Organization of Iran (PMOI), a militant organization fighting against the official Iranian government.
