Google disrupts NetNut proxy network

Google said it has ⁠weakened a large network of internet-connected devices that was being used to hide and route malicious online ‌activity.

The tech giant said it ‌took ‌action against the NetNut ‌residential proxy network, also ⁠known as Popa, in partnership with the FBI and Lumen, among others.

Google said it disabled accounts and services ​used in NetNut-related malware command-and-control operations and shared technical intelligence ⁠on the group's infrastructure with law enforcement and industry partners to support broader enforcement efforts.

Residential proxy networks allow users to route internet traffic through consumer IP addresses, which can mask the origin of online activity and help ​bypass security defences.

Such networks ⁠can be used for ⁠legitimate purposes, but they are also often abused for ​cybercrime because they obscure the true ‌source of ⁠traffic.

"We believe our coordinated actions have caused significant degradation to NetNut’s proxy network and its ‌business operations, reducing the available pool of devices for the proxy operator by millions," Google said in a blog.

NetNut ​offers rotating residential, ISP, mobile, and datacenter proxies. It was founded in 2017 as a subsidiary ‌of ⁠Alarum Technologies, a ​cyber security firm in Israel.