Network Analysis of Recurring YouTube Spam Campaigns
Derek O’Callaghan, Martin Harrigan, Joe Carthy, Pádraig Cunningham
2021Proceedings of the International AAAI Conference on Web and Social Media44 citationsDOIOpen Access PDF
Abstract
As the popularity of content sharing websites has increased, they have become targets for spam, phishing and the distribution of malware. On YouTube, the facility for users to post comments can be used by spam campaigns to direct unsuspecting users to malicious third-party websites. In this paper, we demonstrate how such campaigns can be tracked over time using network motif profiling, i.e. by tracking counts of indicative network motifs. By considering all motifs of up to five nodes, we identify discriminating motifs that reveal two distinctly different spam campaign strategies, and present an evaluation that tracks two corresponding active campaigns.
Topics & Concepts
PopularityComputer scienceSpambotMalwareProfiling (computer programming)PhishingWorld Wide WebSnapshot (computer storage)SpammingForum spamInternet privacyNetwork motifComputer securityThe InternetDatabaseComplex networkSocial psychologyOperating systemPsychologySpam and Phishing DetectionComplex Network Analysis TechniquesNetwork Security and Intrusion Detection