Cyberstorm around the world: US, Germany and Canada hit by botnets that infected millions of devices

Law enforcement agencies from the United States, Germany, and Canada have carried out a coordinated operation targeting large-scale botnet infrastructures responsible for infecting more than three million devices worldwide. Details of the operation were shared through international news reports.

Scale and Impact of the Attacks

According to the U.S. Department of Justice, the dismantled networks were identified as Aisuru, KimWolf, JackSkid, and Mossad. These botnets were used to launch widespread DDoS attacks, with some operations targeting websites associated with the U.S. Department of Defense.

Most of the compromised devices were part of the Internet of Things ecosystem, including webcams, digital video recorders, and home Wi-Fi routers. Investigators say the operators behind the botnets carried out hundreds of thousands of attacks on systems and servers globally, in some cases demanding payments from victims to restore normal functionality.

Searches and Seizures

German authorities reported identifying two individuals suspected of managing parts of the botnet infrastructure. Searches conducted in Germany and Canada resulted in the seizure of data storage devices as well as cryptocurrency assets valued at tens of thousands of U.S. dollars.

Particular attention was given to the KimWolf botnet, which reportedly offered its infrastructure as a proxy service. This allowed third parties to route their internet traffic through infected devices without the owners’ knowledge. Experts note that many of these devices may have been compromised silently, especially if users failed to install security updates or relied on weak passwords.

Cooperation With Tech Companies

The U.S. Department of Justice emphasized that the success of the operation relied on cooperation with nearly twenty major technology companies, including Amazon Web Services, Google, PayPal, and Nokia. Support was also provided by Europol’s PowerOff initiative, which has been focused on combating DDoS-related cybercrime since 2017.