{"id":187286,"date":"2026-03-11T21:27:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:27:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ushopwell.com\/ublog\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\/"},"modified":"2026-03-11T21:27:16","modified_gmt":"2026-03-11T21:27:16","slug":"14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ushopwell.com\/ublog\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\/","title":{"rendered":"14,000 routers are infected by malware that’s highly resistant to takedowns"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

Researchers say they have uncovered a takedown-resistant botnet of 14,000 routers and other network devices\u2014primarily made by Asus\u2014that have been conscripted into a proxy network that anonymously carries traffic used for cybercrime.<\/p>\n

The malware\u2014dubbed KadNap\u2014takes hold by exploiting vulnerabilities that have gone unpatched by their owners, Chris Formosa, a researcher at security firm Lumen\u2019s Black Lotus Labs, told Ars. The high concentration of Asus routers is likely due to botnet operators acquiring a reliable exploit for vulnerabilities affecting those models. He said it\u2019s unlikely that the attackers are using any zero-days in the operation.<\/p>\n

A botnet that stands out among others<\/h2>\n

The number of infected routers averages about 14,000 per day, up from 10,000 last August, when Black Lotus discovered the botnet. Compromised devices are overwhelmingly located in the US, with smaller populations in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Russia. One of the most salient features of KadNap is a sophisticated peer-to-peer design based on Kademlia<\/a>, a network structure that uses distributed hash tables to conceal the IP addresses of command-and-control servers. The design makes the botnet resistant to detection and takedowns through traditional methods.<\/p>\n

Read full article<\/a><\/p>\n

Comments<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n

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Researchers say they have uncovered a takedown-resistant botnet of 14,000 routers and other network devices\u2014primarily made by Asus\u2014that have been conscripted into a proxy network that anonymously carries traffic used for cybercrime. The malware\u2014dubbed KadNap\u2014takes hold by exploiting vulnerabilities that have gone unpatched by their owners, Chris Formosa, a researcher at security firm Lumen\u2019s Black Lotus Labs, told Ars. The high concentration of Asus routers is likely due to botnet…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[241],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-187286","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-technology"],"yoast_head":"\n14,000 routers are infected by malware that's highly resistant to takedowns - UshopWell.com<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/ushopwell.com\/ublog\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"14,000 routers are infected by malware that's highly resistant to takedowns - UshopWell.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Researchers say they have uncovered a takedown-resistant botnet of 14,000 routers and other network devices\u2014primarily made by Asus\u2014that have been conscripted into a proxy network that anonymously carries traffic used for cybercrime. The malware\u2014dubbed KadNap\u2014takes hold by exploiting vulnerabilities that have gone unpatched by their owners, Chris Formosa, a researcher at security firm Lumen\u2019s Black Lotus Labs, told Ars. The high concentration of Asus routers is likely due to botnet...\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/ushopwell.com\/ublog\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"UshopWell.com\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-11T21:27:16+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"UShopWell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"UShopWell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"1 minute\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ushopwell.com\\\/ublog\\\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\\\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ushopwell.com\\\/ublog\\\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\\\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"UShopWell\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ushopwell.com\\\/ublog\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/6fd1f9e0ff932e534c86c70d5acff0fc\"},\"headline\":\"14,000 routers are infected by malware that’s highly resistant to takedowns\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-11T21:27:16+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ushopwell.com\\\/ublog\\\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\\\/\"},\"wordCount\":204,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ushopwell.com\\\/ublog\\\/#organization\"},\"articleSection\":[\"Technology\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ushopwell.com\\\/ublog\\\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\\\/\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/ushopwell.com\\\/ublog\\\/14000-routers-are-infected-by-malware-thats-highly-resistant-to-takedowns\\\/\",\"name\":\"14,000 routers are infected by malware that's highly resistant to takedowns - 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