Uploaded June 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
Millions of everyday consumer devices, especially knockoffs that you buy online, are being infected by a malware known as residential proxy software.
This gives anyone – including hackers – a backdoor into home networks. The Digital Citizens Alliance estimates that there are 20 million of these back doors in the U.S.
WSJ’s Jack Gillum test a few of these malware-riddled products to investigate how criminals are tapping into them to carry out cyberattacks and other types of illegal activity around the world.
Chapters:
0:00 Dangers of Internet-connected devices
0:32 How these cyberattacks work
2:24 Dangers of residential proxies
4:31 Comcast investigating the threats
5:52 How many devices are infected?
7:08 How the devices are leveraged
Think one of your gadgets has been infected? Here’s how to check: on.wsj.com/4ec7Vqr
News Explainers
Some days the high-speed news cycle can bring more questions than answers. WSJ’s news explainers break down the day's biggest stories into bite-size pieces to help you make sense of the news.
#Crime #Cybersecurity #WSJ
Millions of everyday consumer devices, especially knockoffs that you buy online, are being infected by a malware known as residential proxy software.
This gives anyone – including hackers – a backdoor into home networks. The Digital Citizens Alliance estimates that there are 20 million of these back doors in the U.S.
WSJ’s Jack Gillum test a few of these malware-riddled products to investigate how criminals are tapping into them to carry out cyberattacks and other types of illegal activity around the world.
Chapters:
0:00 Dangers of Internet-connected devices
0:32 How these cyberattacks work
2:24 Dangers of residential proxies
4:31 Comcast investigating the threats
5:52 How many devices are infected?
7:08 How the devices are leveraged
Think one of your gadgets has been infected? Here’s how to check: on.wsj.com/4ec7Vqr
News Explainers
Some days the high-speed news cycle can bring more questions than answers. WSJ’s news explainers break down the day's biggest stories into bite-size pieces to help you make sense of the news.
#Crime #Cybersecurity #WSJ
