Researchers found proxy software moving traffic through the White House network. The same hidden apps can turn your TV, router or free VPN into a tool for strangers.
Security researchers say hidden software moved other people's internet traffic through the White House network. The same trick can happen in a home. A free app, a cheap streaming box or a free VPN can quietly let strangers use your internet connection, and fraud can then trace back to your address.
The security firm Layer3 Intel spotted residential proxy activity on a network registered to the Executive Office of the President. A residential proxy sends someone's web traffic through an ordinary home or office connection, so it looks like a real person is online. Layer3 saw traffic from six addresses tied to at least 28 known proxy services between Oct. 5 and Nov. 3. Most of it came in the evenings.
Researchers think an employee may have joined the Wi-Fi with a personal device running a compromised app. Another firm, Synthient, said several staffers appeared to be running a Windows 11 machine with software from a proxy company called Infatica. It pointed to Rave, a popular app for watching streaming services with friends, as the likely way it got there. The White House did not respond to CNET's request for comment.
There is no evidence the access was used to attack the White House. Experts still say it could give outsiders an unmonitored way into a protected network. Commercial proxy networks sell access, so anyone with a few dollars could rent an address that appears to belong to the Executive Office of the President.
At home, the risk is more basic. Criminals use proxies for malware, identity theft and fake social media accounts. One proxy found in the White House case, 9Proxy, is often used for banking fraud, according to Spur Intelligence.
App makers can earn money by adding proxy code to free apps. The terms you accept often include a clause that lets your IP address, the number that identifies your home connection, join a third-party proxy pool. Once installed, the code runs in the background until you delete the app or opt out.
Smart TVs are a big weak spot. A June Spur report found roughly one in three apps on Samsung and LG TVs were selling users' IP addresses. The report notes that Amazon and Roku have banned the practice. The FBI also lists free VPNs as a main way bad actors get hold of an IP address.
You may not have to install anything. Synthient found more than 1.3 million streaming devices from the China-based maker MECOOL infected with proxy software. In March, the Justice Department charged a proxy service called SocksEscort with compromising thousands of routers to file fraudulent unemployment claims.
The steps in the alert box above cover cleanup, safer buying and a free check of your address. Layer3's checker searches a database of over 70 million proxies. GreyNoise offers a free tool as well.
Researchers have not confirmed which app was responsible in the White House case, and no one has said what the traffic was used for. Those answers will show how far this problem reaches into homes and offices.
Free apps, free VPNs and cheap streaming boxes can rent out your home connection, so remove what you do not need and check your address.
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