On December 23, Kuaishou-W (01024.HK) announced that after intensive efforts to address the issue and repair its systems, the live-streaming function on its platform has gradually resumed normal operations, while other services remain unaffected.
The incident began on the evening of December 22, when Kuaishou was targeted by a malicious cyberattack, resulting in multiple live-streaming rooms being flooded with inappropriate content, including pornography and violence. This triggered widespread public discussion. By the time of reporting, Kuaishou's stock price had dropped by 3.37%.
As a leading social platform, the attack has raised concerns about Kuaishou's cybersecurity defenses. How did such a large-scale breach occur?
**Timeline of the Attack** Based on user reports from platforms like Xiaohongshu and Weibo, the attack unfolded as follows: - Around 10 PM on December 22, explicit and violent content, along with malicious links, appeared in some live-streaming rooms. The "Nearby" and recommendation pages were overwhelmed with violations, with certain streams attracting over 10,000 viewers. Users attempted to report the content, but the reporting system became congested, delaying responses. - Shortly after midnight on December 23, Kuaishou implemented an emergency shutdown of all live streams. Subsequently, the live-streaming feature was completely disabled, and other functions—such as short-video browsing, personal profiles, and withdrawals—experienced brief disruptions. - By approximately 1 AM, live-streaming gradually resumed, with all involved accounts frozen. Enhanced security verification measures were activated, and users received password-reset prompts.
Kuaishou confirmed that the platform was attacked by malicious actors and stated that the incident had been reported to authorities, with law enforcement notified.
**Misinformation and Clarifications** Amid the attack, rumors circulated that virus-laden links in compromised live streams had led to WeChat account theft, with scammers soliciting loans from victims' contacts. However, WeChat denied these claims, emphasizing its robust security protections and stating no such incidents had been reported.
**Expert Analysis: A P0-Level Incident** Cybersecurity experts classified the attack as a "P0-level" breach—the most severe category—characterized by system-wide failures, prolonged disruptions to core services, and significant reputational damage requiring executive-level intervention.
**Root Causes and Industry Warnings** The attack, which lasted several hours overnight, exposed weaknesses in Kuaishou's emergency response protocols. Experts from 360 Digital Security Group suggested the attack was a coordinated external hack, possibly exploiting vulnerabilities in live-streaming interfaces to bypass identity verification and content moderation.
An insider familiar with Kuaishou's moderation system speculated that attackers may have infiltrated whitelist permissions or targeted restricted APIs. Meanwhile, Qi-An-Xin experts highlighted internal risks, such as insider threats, compromised accounts, and privilege misuse, which can be as damaging as external attacks.
Wang Liejun of Qi-An-Xin noted that the attack's scale stemmed from the automation tools used by attackers, which overwhelmed manual moderation efforts. Traditional human review cannot keep pace with high-speed, automated violations, creating an insurmountable efficiency gap.
The incident serves as a wake-up call for platforms: as cybercriminals adopt AI-driven tactics, defenders must counter with equally advanced AI-based security systems.
As of reporting, Kuaishou has not released a technical post-mortem or evidence related to the attack.
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