Botnet of more than 17 million devices dismantled

Dutch authorities dismantled a large Asocks botnet comprising at least 17 million compromised devices including computers, routers, tablets, smartphones, and smart security cameras. Investigators identified 200 servers used to run the infrastructure, all physically based in the Netherlands. The botnet operated as a residential proxy service where cybercriminals infected consumer devices with malware, which were then used to route internet traffic and launch cyberattacks without the owners' knowledge.

Source: Ars Technica | 2026-05-29