The gist: Google and FBI neutralized a web-scraping network with 2 million hijacked smart TVs and streaming boxes operating as private proxy infrastructure.
Google, in collaboration with the FBI and Lumen, identified and neutralized over 2 million compromised consumer devices that were being abused by the NetNut network as exit nodes for web-scraping proxies. The devices – primarily smart TVs and streaming boxes – were unknowingly part of a widespread infrastructure for unauthorized data collection.
Google, the FBI, and Lumen conducted an operation to dismantle the technical infrastructure of the NetNut network. The network operated a proxy infrastructure with over 2 million compromised devices that users were exploited for web scraping without their knowledge.
The affected devices are primarily smart TVs and streaming boxes from various manufacturers. These functioned as so-called exit nodes – exit points – through which data traffic was routed. For end users, this abuse was completely transparent; the devices operated normally and displayed no conspicuous behavior.
The web-scraping network made it possible to extract data from websites at scale while distributing the actual requests across thousands of private devices. This significantly complicates the target organization’s ability to identify and block illegal access, since each request originates from a legitimate private IP address. For CISOs, this means that traditional IP-based blocklists may fail to detect attack traffic but instead block legitimate home network users.
The operation demonstrates increasing law enforcement interest in the abuse of private network infrastructure. It also underscores the need for device manufacturers to implement secure update mechanisms and establish network security at the hardware level.
Source: borncity.com · Published 4 July 2026
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