Dutch authorities have dismantled a massive botnet consisting of over 17 million compromised devices, controlled through 200 servers. The operation was conducted by Dutch police and the National Cyber Security Center after a security researcher's tip, with the botnet linked to Russia-based ASOCKS proxy service. The infrastructure was taken offline as it was being used for criminal activities including DDoS attacks and phishing operations.
Background
Botnets are networks of compromised devices that can be controlled remotely to conduct various cyberattacks. Residential proxy services like ASOCKS allow users to route internet traffic through other people's devices, often without their knowledge, making it difficult to trace malicious activities.
- Source
- Ars Technica
- Published
- May 30, 2026 at 02:46 AM
- Score
- 8.0 / 10