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PC Gamer
PC Gamer
Jess Kinghorn

Hackers hijack over 16,000 TP-Link network devices, creating a big ol' botnet that's absolutely slamming Microsoft Azure accounts

An illustration of a silhouetted thief in motion running while carrying a stolen fingerprint. This could represent individuality, identity, privacy concerns, or a concept of personal data being in motion or at risk. The combination of the human form with the unique identifier of a fingerprint offers a visual metaphor for themes such as identity theft, digital security, or the trace we leave behind in a digital age. The overall aesthetic is bold and dynamic, fitting for topics of cybersecurity, personal identity, or discussions about the intersection of humanity and technology.

As a renter all too familiar with the faraday cages that make up much of Bath's Georgian architecture, I've found TP-Link WiFi adapters often come in clutch (that Bridgerton fanfic isn't going to read itself, and certainly not on a dodgy internet connection). Unfortunately these adapters, alongside many of TP-Link's networking products, seem to be extremely vulnerable to hackers.

It gets worse: thousands of TP-Link routers have been hijacked by hackers working on behalf of the Chinese government, according to Ars Technica. The affected routers have been leveraged into a botnet that's hammering Microsoft Azure accounts with password spray attacks, sending massive amounts of login attempts from a rotating roster of IP addresses.

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