Dutch Authorities Dismantle Botnet Linked to 17 Million Infected Devices
What’s new: Dutch authorities have dismantled a botnet comprising at least 17 million infected devices, including computers, tablets, smartphones, and IoT devices. The operation involved seizing over 200 servers in the Netherlands that were used as the botnet’s backend infrastructure. The botnet is reportedly linked to a service called Asocks, which offers residential proxies and has been associated with malicious activities.
Who’s affected
Individuals and organizations using devices that may have been compromised by the botnet are at risk. This includes users of residential proxies and those with unsecured IoT devices.
What to do
- Keep operating systems up-to-date.
- Maintain visibility of edge devices like routers.
- Use strong, unique passwords and enable two-factor authentication.
- Install applications only from trusted sources.
- Change default passwords on devices.
- Secure Wi-Fi networks with WPA2 or WPA3 encryption.
