Security researchers say White House devices were quietly renting out their internet address, a risk that free apps can bring to any home or business.
Security researchers say several White House staffers are using computers or phones that quietly let strangers rent their internet address. The security firm Layer3 Intel spotted the activity coming from the network reserved for the Executive Office of the President. One of the services involved is run by a Russian whose hosting company was tied to election hacks in 2016.
A residential proxy is a service that lets customers send web traffic through someone else's connection. Websites then see that person's internet address, not the customer's. Layer3 Intel said traffic exited the White House network 236 times between October 5 and November 3. It came from six internet addresses, on 26 of the 30 days, mostly between 5 p.m. and midnight.
The tracking company Synthient tied the activity to several Windows 11 installations of a service called Infatica. Proxy programs like this are often built into free mobile and desktop apps. Developers add a piece of code from the proxy company and earn a small payment on each install.
Infatica's founder, Vladimir Fomenko, ran a hosting firm called King Servers. Six of the eight internet addresses that Russia's state security services used to break into election databases in Arizona and Illinois in 2016 were hosted there.
Infatica was not alone. Layer3 Intel found 28 separate proxy services that could send traffic out through the White House network. Its team said anyone can get this access by signing up and paying a few dollars. They said they did not target the network and found it by chance.
Proxy services are a major source of unwanted and often malicious traffic, including account takeovers, ad fraud and mass copying of web content for AI projects. They also carry security flaws. In January 2026, dozens of services had to patch their networks after criminals were shown to be abusing a weakness to take control of devices on users' local networks.
Synthient founder Ben Brundage said some resellers charge as little as 60 cents per gigabyte. That means for under a dollar, a criminal can reach trusted networks without identity checks.
This is common in workplaces. A January 2026 webinar from Spur found these proxies in nearly 300 government networks, 318 utility companies, 166 healthcare companies or hospitals and 141 banking and finance companies. Infoblox said 65% of its customers were querying proxy related domains.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment. The material does not say who the staffers are, what devices they used, or whether any government data was exposed.
A free app can turn your phone or work computer into a rental connection, so be careful what you install and what staff bring to work.
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