When viewers visited Cartoon Network websites to watch their favorite children's shows over the weekend, they found an unfamiliar face greeting them: Ricardo Milos, the famous Brazilian male stripper.
Milos's appearance on the site was the work of two hackers from Brazil.
By taking advantage of "a vulnerability in Cartoon Network's website management platform," they were able to replace cartoons with videos of Milos in 16 different regions, including:
"Brazil, the Czech Republic, Denmark, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Mexico, the Middle East and Africa (MENA), the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey and the UK"
As the network attempts to remove Milos from their websites, some have taken their video players offline and others have been taken down completely.
Cartoon Network UK issued a short statement acknowledging their work on the "issue."
Ricardo Milos has become well known in meme-culture for his signature stripping attire: a red bandana around his head and an American flag thong.
His "unique style" has given him a certain amount of internet fame, apparently prompting the star treatment from two hacker fans.
Twitter had their fair share of laughs at Cartoon Network's expense:
Others felt the hackers went too far, considering how many children visit Cartoon Network's websites.
Though website hackings are often politically or personally motivated in some way, no apparent motivation from the two Brazillian hackers has been forthcoming.
It seems possible the pair were simply in it "for the LOLs."
This isn't the first time hackers have gained access to large websites for relatively petty reasons.
Not so long ago, fans of the gamer PewDiePie "infiltrated a Wall Street Journal webpage" to promote him after the magazine labelled some of his comments as "anti-semitic."
Also, in April, hackers took the Weather Channel off the air for no apparent reason.
Networks around the world had better watch out! Computers are integral to how we run our businesses, and there are malicious hackers ready to force their way into them if we're not careful.
Jane Rosenberg
Jane Rosenberg
