NetNut cracked as Google and FBI target 2 million-device botnet


Tech companies working with US law enforcement “significantly degraded” the NetNut residential proxy network as part of an ongoing effort to disrupt the tools cybercriminals use to conceal their activity, say researchers.

The work was carried out by Google, Lumen, Shadowserver, the FBI, and others, and marks a continuation of the IPIDEA proxy network disruption from January.

According to Google Cloud, those working on the operation believe NetNut was among the most popular residential proxy network providers and had at least 2 million devices enrolled in its botnet, comprising mainly small TV-streaming hardware. Crims often use residential proxy networks to make it look like their traffic is actually coming from legit homes and businesses.

Read more…
Source:  The Register


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • British nationals told they could be banned or deported from US amid censorship row

    March 1, 2025

    British nationals have been told that they could be banned or deported from the US as the free speech row rages on across the transatlantic. US Congressman and chair of the House Judiciary Committee, Jim Jordan, handed a letter to Keir Starmer slamming the state of UK “censorship”. He added that his committee had subpoenaed American ...

  • Global hacker arrested in Thailand in joint operation of Singapore and Thai police

    February 27, 2025

    The Singapore Police Force (‘SPF’) collaborated with the Royal Thai Police (‘RTP’) on a cross-border operation against a hacker believed to be responsible for a series of international data breaches, leading to the arrest of a 39-year-old man on 26 February 2025 in Thailand. Investigations into the data breaches began in 2020, following reports filed by ...

  • UK: Man jailed for abusive emails to politicians

    February 18, 2025

    A 39-year-old man has been jailed for sending malicious communications to a government minister, the mayor of London and a senior Met Police officer. Jack Bennett, of Newlands Park, Seaton, Devon, pleaded guilty to four counts of sending malicious emails; one to Safeguarding Minister Jess Phillips, one to Metropolitan police officer Matt Twist, and two counts ...

  • Posting hateful speech online could lead to police raiding your home in this European country

    February 16, 2025

    If you’ve ever dared to read the comments on a social media post, you might start to wonder if civilized discourse is just a myth. Aggressive threats, lies, and harassment have unfortunately become the norm online, where anonymity has emboldened some users to push the limits of civility. In the United States, most of what ...

  • Israel: Extortionists posed as women online, trapped victims with intimate photos

    February 14, 2025

    Two men were arrested on Thursday for operating a sophisticated sexual extortion network. According to the investigation, they posed as women on social media lured victims into sending intimate photos, and then threatened to expose the images unless they paid money. The prosecution stated: “They acted systematically, cynically exploiting their victims.” David Bracha, 26, from Rishon ...

  • Northern Ireland: Two people charged over alleged New IRA activity after PSNI data breach

    February 13, 2025

    Two men have appeared in court charged with terrorism offences linked to a major PSNI data breach. Brian Francis Cavlan, 49, from Coronation Park, Aughnacloy and Rory Martin Logan, 43, with an address given as HMP Maghaberry, appeared before court on Thursday. They were arrested on Tuesday as part of an ongoing police investigation into the ...