There is a big incentive for both espionage motivated actors and financially motivated actors to set up proxy botnets. These can serve as an anonymization layer, which can provide plausibly geolocated IP addresses to scrape contents of websites, access stolen or compromised online assets, and launch cyber-attacks.
Examples of proxy botnets set up by advanced persistent threat (APT) actors are the VPNFilter botnet and Cyclops Blink, both deployed by Sandworm and disrupted by the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) in 2018 and 2022, respectively. Another example is the SOHO botnet alleged to be operated by a Chinese company called the Beijing Integrity Technology Group; this botnet was disrupted in September 2024 by the FBI.
Read more…
Source: Trend Micro
Related:
- ChainDrop worm crawls into npm supply chain, evades standard defenses
August 15, 2026
A new variant of the Shai-Hulud npm worm has poisoned hundreds of packages while adding propagation techniques that can leave little trace in the corresponding source repositories. In Frank Herbert’s Dune, Shai-Hulud was the name of the giant self-sustaining desert sandworms that moved silently beneath the surface of the planet Arrakis. So it made sense that when ...
- Researchers find ultimate Windows kill switch which can disable antivirus with almost no user interaction
August 14, 2026
Microsoft has recently fixed a vulnerability that allowed threat actors to bypass advanced security measures, disable antivirus software, and expose the target device to full system takeover. All of this, it seems, could have been possible with a very simple script, and a single click from the victim’s side. Luckily, the vulnerability was discovered by white hat hackers, ...
- APT group HoneyMyte upgrades CoolClient
August 14, 2026
CoolClient is a backdoor family attributed to the HoneyMyte APT group (also known as Mustang Panda) that has been used in their cyber-espionage campaigns targeting organizations across Asia and Russia. It supports such capabilities as keylogging, clipboard theft, credential harvesting, file management, system reconnaissance, and plugin-based extensions. Since its first public disclosure by Sophos in 2022 and subsequent ...
- New Android malware lets criminals use your bank card in real time
August 13, 2026
Researchers at Group-IB have discovered a new NFC relay malware family, purpose-built to capture live card data via NFC and forward it in real time to attackers. They dubbed it “WindRelay.” NFC (Near Field Communication) is wireless technology that allows devices such as smartphones, payment cards, and payment terminals to communicate when they’re very close together. So, ...
- Armored Likho expands its cyber-espionage toolkit
August 13, 2026
In May 2026, Kaspersky researches discovered a new cyber-espionage campaign by the Armored Likho group, also known as Eagle Werewolf, that targets private individuals and organizations across various industries in Russia, including major corporations, the public sector, IT, and education. The attackers used a fake app as bait that mimics a service for donations. However, ...
- Uber Freight reportedly investigating after hacking group claims data breach
August 12, 2026
A hacking and extortion gang has taken credit for a cyberattack and data breach at Uber Freight, the ridesharing giant’s logistics subsidiary. A spokesperson for Uber Freight told Reuters, which first reported the incident, that there was no effect on its business operations and that its systems were running normally. (The company did not immediately respond to ...