Botnets, Proxies, and Brute Force: How 2.8 Million IPs Target VPNs and Firewalls

In this episode, we dive deep into a massive, ongoing brute force attack that's shaking up cybersecurity worldwide. With almost 2.8 million IP addresses involved daily, this attack is relentlessly targeting networking devices like VPNs, firewalls, and gateways from major vendors, including Palo Alto Networks, Ivanti, and SonicWall. But what's behind this global onslaught?We'll explore the intricate details of how threat actors leverage a vast botnet of compromised devices—including MikroTik, Huawei, Cisco, Boa, and ZTE routers—to bombard edge devices with login attempts. By using residential proxies, attackers mask their origins, making their activities appear as if they're coming from ordinary home users, bypassing traditional detection methods.Our discussion includes:How the Attack Works: Analyzing the brute force tactics and the use of residential proxies to evade detection.Geographic Breakdown: Understanding why Brazil, Turkey, Russia, Argentina, Morocco, and Mexico are hotspots for this malicious traffic.High-Quality Nodes and Proxy Exit Points: Discover how compromised gateways serve as premium proxy nodes, making the attacks harder to trace.Mitigation Strategies: Practical steps to safeguard your organization, including strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, IP allowlisting, disabling unused interfaces, and ensuring up-to-date firmware.We also look at the broader implications of this attack wave, connecting the dots with other major incidents like Cisco’s credential brute-forcing campaign, Citrix’s password spray warnings, and recent zero-day exploits from Apple and Microsoft.Join us as we break down this massive cyber threat, revealing the sophisticated tactics used by attackers and offering actionable insights to bolster your organization’s defense against such large-scale brute force assaults.