Just days after breaking the world record for YouTube views, Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee’s “Despacito” was temporarily removed from the platform following a hack, as BBC News reports. Early morning on Tuesday, April 10, a pair of hackers named Prosox and Kuroi’sh altered the title of the video and replaced the video’s the cover art with a still from the Spanish TV series Money Heist.
According to The Independent, attempts to actually play the video following the hack were unsuccessful. The hackers replaced titles of the video to include their names, and apparently wrote the message “Free Palestine” under the clip. The BBC reports that other artists, including Shakira’s “Chantaje,” Selena Gomez, Drake, and Taylor Swift, also had their videos affected by the cyber intrusion, though the clip for “Despacito” is now back up and running.
https://twitter.com/musicnewsfact/status/983650703880138752
According to the BBC, a Twitter account allegedly belonging to one of the hackers posted several messages directed at Vevo and YouTube, writing that the hack was “just for fun,” though they claim they did not delete the video for “Despacito:”
In a statement to Remezcla, representatives from Vevo wrote, “Vevo can confirm that a number of videos in its catalogue were subject to a security breach today, which has now been contained. We are working to reinstate all videos affected and our catalogue to be restored to full working order. We are continuing to investigate the source of the breach.” A rep from YouTube added, “After seeing unusual upload activity on a handful of VEVO channels, we worked quickly with our partner to disable access while they investigate the issue.”
Update, 4/10/2018 11:10 a.m.: This story has been updated to include statements from Vevo and YouTube on the attack.