Dutch Authorities Dismantle Massive Botnet of 17 Million Devices
Dutch authorities have successfully dismantled a massive botnet that infected over 17 million devices worldwide. The botnet, composed of computers, tablets, and smartphones, was used to send spam emails, phishing lures, and conduct DDoS attacks. The operation involved the seizure of more than 200 servers used to control the botnet. The Dutch National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC) played a crucial role in the operation after receiving a tip from a security researcher. The botnet was reportedly linked to the Asocks residential proxy service, which had been previously identified in a 2024 report as using infected devices as proxy nodes. This takedown is part of a broader effort by authorities to combat similar botnets, including SocksEscort and RapperBot. 
