'Popa' Android Botnet Linked to Publicly-Traded Israeli Proxy Firm

Researchers have linked the four-year-old “Popa” botnet — which has forced millions of Android-based consumer TV boxes to relay internet traffic — to NetNut, a residential proxy provider operated by publicly-traded Israeli firm Alarum Technologies (NASDAQ: ALAR). Traffic relayed through the compromised devices has reportedly supported advertising fraud, account takeovers, and mass data-scraping operations. Multiple security firms contributed to the investigation tying the botnet to NetNut.