Dutch authorities dismantle botnet controlling 17 million devices
Original: Botnet of more than 17 million devices dismantled
Why This Matters
Demonstrates international cooperation in dismantling large-scale cybercriminal infrastructure
Netherlands police and National Cyber Security Center took down a massive botnet comprising over 17 million infected devices managed by 200 servers. The network was reportedly linked to Russia-based ASOCKS proxy service used for cybercriminal activities.
Dutch authorities announced Thursday they dismantled a botnet controlling more than 17 million devices in a joint operation between police and the National Cyber Security Center. The takedown occurred after a security researcher reported the network to authorities, with host infrastructure located in the Netherlands. Police seized several botnet servers from a hosting provider, which then took the network offline due to criminal usage. According to reports, the botnet was linked to ASOCKS, a Russia-based residential proxy service that obscures user locations through third-party devices. Such services are often used for DDoS attacks, phishing operations, and website scraping. In 2024, security firm Human found evidence connecting a botnet named Proxylib to ASOCKS, with 28 Google Play apps enrolling 190,000 devices into the proxy network without user approval.