Foreign Hackers Charged in Botnet Scheme Targeting Global Routers

Jonathan Greig reports in The Record that authorities have unsealed a domain seizure warrant and an indictment against four foreign nationals, charging them with creating a botnet scheme that compromised internet routers globally. The case is United States v. Alexy Victorovich Chertkov, Kirill Vladimirovich Morozov, Dmitri Rubtsov, and Aleksander Aleksandrovich Shishkin (all four have numerous aliases listed on the indictment).

The defendants, three Russian citizens and Rubtsov, a Kazakhstani, are accused of operating the Anyproxy and 5socks platforms, which sold unauthorized access to infected routers. The charges include conspiracy and damage to protected computers.

The defendants created the botnet scheme by covertly infecting outdated wireless routers with malware, giving them control over the devices without the owners’ knowledge.

The compromised routers were repurposed and sold as proxy servers on Anyproxy.net and 5socks.net, generating illicit income through subscription services.

According to the Justice Department, both platforms were managed by a company based in Virginia and hosted globally. Court filings show 5socks.net offered over 7,000 proxies for sale. The operation allegedly generated more than $46 million over its 20-year operation.

Chertkov and Rubtsov face additional charges for falsely registering domains used to disguise their identities. The FBI’s Oklahoma City Cyber Task Force discovered malware on routers within Oklahoma, further evidencing the operation’s domestic impact.

The FBI successfully seized the Anyproxy and 5socks domains, while international partners assisted in dismantling the botnet infrastructure overseas.

Lawyers representing clients in tech, telecom, or cybersecurity sectors should monitor developments in botnet litigation and be prepared to advise on proactive network security and legal compliance. The false domain registration charges highlight the importance of accurate digital registration practices.