The FBI announced that it had seized control of a Chinese-linked botnet comprised of hundreds of thousands of hacked internet routers and other devices, CNN reports.
This network, which allegedly threatened critical infrastructure in the US and overseas, was reportedly being used to conduct targeted cyberattacks.
FBI Director Christopher Wray spoke of the situation at the Aspen Cyber Summit, calling it “just one round in a much longer fight.”
The botnet, comprised of over 260,000 hacked devices across the globe, included webcams, DVRs, and routers, with roughly half located within the US, according to the FBI.
The FBI’s action follows previous warnings from the US government about alleged threats posed by Chinese government-backed hackers. In January, Wray told Congress that another such group was actively preparing to “wreak havoc and cause real-world harm” to the US, possibly in response to a potential Chinese invasion of Taiwan.
The Chinese Embassy in Washington has dismissed the US allegations as “groundless.”
