The hidden market turning home internet connections into cover for hackers
Techa Tungateja/Getty Images
ByDavid DiMolfetta,
Cybersecurity Reporter, Nextgov/FCW
June 25, 2026 06:00 AM ET
Researchers traced millions of household IP addresses through residential proxy networks, calling the illicit use of those connections the “blood diamonds of the digital age.”
Swaths of consumer streaming devices and passive-income services are quietly turning Americans’ home internet connections into cover for cybercrime, fraud and foreign-linked hackers, according to a new investigation that found suspicious behavior from devices and apps sold through major online marketplaces.
The report from the Digital Citizens Alliance and cyber compliance firm risk3sixty focuses on residential proxy networks, which let users route their web traffic through real household internet connections.
That disguise is what makes the market valuable for cyberspies: Many threat detection tools treat home internet connections as more trustworthy than traffic from known malicious networks. When cybercriminals or state-backed hackers piggyback on those...
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