Several high-profile YouTubers hacked in massive attack: Details here

After speaking with a member of an internet forum formally engaged in trading of hacked accounts, ZDNet uncovered that a number of YouTube creators have been hacked lately.

The outlet didn't reveal the specific number of compromised accounts but said the victims include high-profile YouTubers in the car tuning and review community as well as those covering content on technology, gaming and music.

Though we can't be sure, ZDNet's conversation with the unnamed forum member indicates that the channels were hijacked through a well-coordinated spear phishing campaign.

As part of this, the creators were tricked into giving away their account credentials on a fake Google sign-in page. Their information went to the servers of the attackers, who then used the same to break into the YouTube channels.

After hacking into the channels, the attackers seemingly transferred their ownership to another user and changed their vanity URL, the unique link used to access the page.

This not only made the channel inaccessible to its real owner but also left its subscribers thinking the page and its content has been removed for good.

Notably, some 2FA-enabled channels were also compromised in the attack.

Now that the threat is clear, you need to be extra careful while accessing websites to keep your account shielded.

Avoid clicking on suspicious links and try using a complex password created with a reliable password manager.

Finally, enable two-factor authentication for your Google but not by using SMS as the verification option. Try Google authenticator or your phone as the security key.