An international law enforcement operation shut down a service called SocksEscort, which allegedly helped cybercriminals all over the world launch ransomware and DDoS attacks, as well as distribute child sexual abuse material.

International cops stuck down 23 servers in 7 countries Cops from eight countries this week disrupted SocksEscort, a residential proxy service used by criminals to compromise hundreds of thousands of routers worldwide and carry out digital fraud, costing businesses and consumers millions.…

Law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Europe along with private partners have disrupted the SocksEscort cybercrime proxy network that used only edge devices compromised via the AVRecon malware for Linux.

Law enforcement agencies in the U.S. and Europe along with private partners have disrupted the SocksEscort cybercrime proxy network that used only edge devices compromised via the AVRecon malware for Linux.

International cops stuck down 23 servers in 7 countries Cops from eight countries this week disrupted SocksEscort, a residential proxy service used by criminals to compromise hundreds of thousands of routers worldwide and carry out digital fraud, costing businesses and consumers millions.…

Basé sur plus d’un million de modems infectés par le malware AVRecon, le réseau de proxy Socksescort a été démantelé mercredi à l’issue d’une opération conjointe des autorités, en Europe comme aux États-Unis. Socksescort, qui proposait à la location des adresses IP résidentielles, aurait permis de générer plus de 5 millions d’euros de chiffre d’affaires, […]

Internationale Strafverfolger haben dem Proxy-Botnet „SocksEscort“ aus mehr als 369.000 kompromittierten Geräten einen Schlag versetzt.

The botnet, which compromised routers and IoT devices in 163 countries, claimed about 369,000 victims and $5.8 million from its cybercriminal customers, officials said.

An international law enforcement operation shut down a service called SocksEscort, which allegedly helped cybercriminals all over the world launch ransomware and DDoS attacks, as well as distribute ch...

European and US agencies dismantled the SocksEscort proxy network built on infected routers and used by cybercriminals in global fraud schemes.

On 11 March 2026, Europol in collaboration with law enforcement agencies from Austria, France, the Netherlands, and the United States, alongside Eurojust, executed Operation Lightning. This coordinated effort targeted the malicious proxy service ‘SocksEscort’, which allegedly compromised over 369 000 routers and Internet of Things devices in 163 countries, and offered ‘SocksEscort’ customers over 35 000 proxies in recent years.

Investigators said the service infected thousands of routers and enabled fraud including crypto account takeovers.

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Alimenté par le malware AVRecon, ce réseau s’est appuyé sur des appareils de bordure (entre 280 000 et 369 000), principalement des routeurs et des objets connectés, depuis 2020. Il est tombé.