Cartoon Network Hacked: Strippers and Memes Replace Content
A male stripper and Arabic memes were among things that greeted viewers of Cartoon Network websites in at least 16 countries throughout Europe, South America, the Middle East and Africa.
The breach was courtesy of two Brazilian hackers, who claimed they 'broke into' Cartoon Network thanks to a vulnerability that allowed them to access the website management platform. From there, they were able to switch video sources to their own files.
We're not sure what the viewers should have seen, but what they did see included Brazilian hip-hop songs, various funny images and memes, not to mention videos of popular Brazilian male stripper, Ricardo Milos, strutting his stuff.
Despite the nature of the content, it stayed up from April 25-28, when Turner, Cartoon Network's parent company, was notified.
"We took immediate action," said a spokesperson for Turner. "Either whole websites or the video players on our sites have been temporarily deactivated. Our teams are working hard to relaunch the sites and video players at the earliest opportunity, while ensuring the protection of our audiences."
Cartoon Network UK and Cartoon Network Russia have admitted, via statements, that the hack occurred, while unconfirmed reports state the hackers claim to have also had access to Cartoon Network Asia Pacific.
Cartoon Network websites were still down at the time of writing (May 2, 2019).
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