Login
Our first story of 2026 revealed how a destructive new botnet called Kimwolf has infected more than two million devices by mass-compromising a vast number of unofficial Android TV streaming boxes. Today, we’ll dig through digital clues left behind by the hackers, network operators and services that appear to have benefitted from Kimwolf’s spread.
On Dec. 17, 2025, the Chinese security firm XLab published a deep dive on Kimwolf, which forces infected devices to participate in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks and to relay abusive and malicious Internet traffic for so-called “residential proxy” services.
The software that turns one’s device into a residential proxy is often quietly bundled with mobile apps and games. Kimwolf specifically targeted residential proxy software that is factory installed on more than a thousand different models of unsanctioned Android TV streaming devices. Very quickly, the residential proxy’s Internet address starts funneling traffic that is linked to ad fraud, account takeover attempts and mass content scraping.
The XLab report explained its researchers found “definitive evidence” that the same cybercriminal actors and infrastructure were used to deploy both Kimwolf and the Aisuru botnet — an earlier version of Kimwolf that also enslaved devices for use in DDoS attacks and proxy services.
XLab said it suspected since October that Kimwolf and Aisuru had the same author(s) and operators, based in part on shared code changes over time. But it said those suspicions were confirmed on December 8 when it witnessed both botnet strains being distributed by the same Internet address at 93.95.112[.]59.
Image: XLab.
Public records show the Internet address range flagged by XLab is assigned to Lehi, Utah-based Resi Rack LLC. Resi Rack’s website bills the company as a “Premium Game Server Hosting Provider.” Meanwhile, Resi Rack’s ads on the Internet moneymaking forum BlackHatWorld refer to it as a “Premium Residential Proxy Hosting and Proxy Software Solutions Company.”
Resi Rack co-founder Cassidy Hales told KrebsOnSecurity his company received a notification on December 10 about Kimwolf using their network “that detailed what was being done by one of our customers leasing our servers.”
“When we received this email we took care of this issue immediately,” Hales wrote in response to an email requesting comment. “This is something we are very disappointed is now associated with our name and this was not the intention of our company whatsoever.”
The Resi Rack Internet address cited by XLab on December 8 came onto KrebsOnSecurity’s radar more than two weeks before that. Benjamin Brundage is founder of Synthient, a startup that tracks proxy services. In late October 2025, Brundage shared that the people selling various proxy services which benefitted from the Aisuru and Kimwolf botnets were doing so at a new Discord server called resi[.]to.
On November 24, 2025, a member of the resi-dot-to Discord channel shares an IP address responsible for proxying traffic over Android TV streaming boxes infected by the Kimwolf botnet.
When KrebsOnSecurity joined the resi[.]to Discord channel in late October as a silent lurker, the server had fewer than 150 members, including “Shox” — the nickname used by Resi Rack’s co-founder Mr. Hales — and his business partner “Linus,” who did not respond to requests for comment.
Other members of the resi[.]to Discord channel would periodically post new IP addresses that were responsible for proxying traffic over the Kimwolf botnet. As the screenshot from resi[.]to above shows, that Resi Rack Internet address flagged by XLab was used by Kimwolf to direct proxy traffic as far back as November 24, if not earlier. All told, Synthient said it tracked at least seven static Resi Rack IP addresses connected to Kimwolf proxy infrastructure between October and December 2025.
Neither of Resi Rack’s co-owners responded to follow-up questions. Both have been active in selling proxy services via Discord for nearly two years. According to a review of Discord messages indexed by the cyber intelligence firm Flashpoint, Shox and Linus spent much of 2024 selling static “ISP proxies” by routing various Internet address blocks at major U.S. Internet service providers.
In February 2025, AT&T announced that effective July 31, 2025, it would no longer originate routes for network blocks that are not owned and managed by AT&T (other major ISPs have since made similar moves). Less than a month later, Shox and Linus told customers they would soon cease offering static ISP proxies as a result of these policy changes.
Shox and Linux, talking about their decision to stop selling ISP proxies.
The stated owner of the resi[.]to Discord server went by the abbreviated username “D.” That initial appears to be short for the hacker handle “Dort,” a name that was invoked frequently throughout these Discord chats.
Dort’s profile on resi dot to.
This “Dort” nickname came up in KrebsOnSecurity’s recent conversations with “Forky,” a Brazilian man who acknowledged being involved in the marketing of the Aisuru botnet at its inception in late 2024. But Forky vehemently denied having anything to do with a series of massive and record-smashing DDoS attacks in the latter half of 2025 that were blamed on Aisuru, saying the botnet by that point had been taken over by rivals.
Forky asserts that Dort is a resident of Canada and one of at least two individuals currently in control of the Aisuru/Kimwolf botnet. The other individual Forky named as an Aisuru/Kimwolf botmaster goes by the nickname “Snow.”
On January 2 — just hours after our story on Kimwolf was published — the historical chat records on resi[.]to were erased without warning and replaced by a profanity-laced message for Synthient’s founder. Minutes after that, the entire server disappeared.
Later that same day, several of the more active members of the now-defunct resi[.]to Discord server moved to a Telegram channel where they posted Brundage’s personal information, and generally complained about being unable to find reliable “bulletproof” hosting for their botnet.
Hilariously, a user by the name “Richard Remington” briefly appeared in the group’s Telegram server to post a crude “Happy New Year” sketch that claims Dort and Snow are now in control of 3.5 million devices infected by Aisuru and/or Kimwolf. Richard Remington’s Telegram account has since been deleted, but it previously stated its owner operates a website that caters to DDoS-for-hire or “stresser” services seeking to test their firepower.
Reports from both Synthient and XLab found that Kimwolf was used to deploy programs that turned infected systems into Internet traffic relays for multiple residential proxy services. Among those was a component that installed a software development kit (SDK) called ByteConnect, which is distributed by a provider known as Plainproxies.
ByteConnect says it specializes in “monetizing apps ethically and free,” while Plainproxies advertises the ability to provide content scraping companies with “unlimited” proxy pools. However, Synthient said that upon connecting to ByteConnect’s SDK they instead observed a mass influx of credential-stuffing attacks targeting email servers and popular online websites.
A search on LinkedIn finds the CEO of Plainproxies is Friedrich Kraft, whose resume says he is co-founder of ByteConnect Ltd. Public Internet routing records show Mr. Kraft also operates a hosting firm in Germany called 3XK Tech GmbH. Mr. Kraft did not respond to repeated requests for an interview.
In July 2025, Cloudflare reported that 3XK Tech (a.k.a. Drei-K-Tech) had become the Internet’s largest source of application-layer DDoS attacks. In November 2025, the security firm GreyNoise Intelligence found that Internet addresses on 3XK Tech were responsible for roughly three-quarters of the Internet scanning being done at the time for a newly discovered and critical vulnerability in security products made by Palo Alto Networks.
Source: Cloudflare’s Q2 2025 DDoS threat report.
LinkedIn has a profile for another Plainproxies employee, Julia Levi, who is listed as co-founder of ByteConnect. Ms. Levi did not respond to requests for comment. Her resume says she previously worked for two major proxy providers: Netnut Proxy Network, and Bright Data.
Synthient likewise said Plainproxies ignored their outreach, noting that the Byteconnect SDK continues to remain active on devices compromised by Kimwolf.
A post from the LinkedIn page of Plainproxies Chief Revenue Officer Julia Levi, explaining how the residential proxy business works.
Synthient’s January 2 report said another proxy provider heavily involved in the sale of Kimwolf proxies was Maskify, which currently advertises on multiple cybercrime forums that it has more than six million residential Internet addresses for rent.
Maskify prices its service at a rate of 30 cents per gigabyte of data relayed through their proxies. According to Synthient, that price range is insanely low and is far cheaper than any other proxy provider in business today.
“Synthient’s Research Team received screenshots from other proxy providers showing key Kimwolf actors attempting to offload proxy bandwidth in exchange for upfront cash,” the Synthient report noted. “This approach likely helped fuel early development, with associated members spending earnings on infrastructure and outsourced development tasks. Please note that resellers know precisely what they are selling; proxies at these prices are not ethically sourced.”
Maskify did not respond to requests for comment.
The Maskify website. Image: Synthient.
Hours after our first Kimwolf story was published last week, the resi[.]to Discord server vanished, Synthient’s website was hit with a DDoS attack, and the Kimwolf botmasters took to doxing Brundage via their botnet.
The harassing messages appeared as text records uploaded to the Ethereum Name Service (ENS), a distributed system for supporting smart contracts deployed on the Ethereum blockchain. As documented by XLab, in mid-December the Kimwolf operators upgraded their infrastructure and began using ENS to better withstand the near-constant takedown efforts targeting the botnet’s control servers.
An ENS record used by the Kimwolf operators taunts security firms trying to take down the botnet’s control servers. Image: XLab.
By telling infected systems to seek out the Kimwolf control servers via ENS, even if the servers that the botmasters use to control the botnet are taken down the attacker only needs to update the ENS text record to reflect the new Internet address of the control server, and the infected devices will immediately know where to look for further instructions.
“This channel itself relies on the decentralized nature of blockchain, unregulated by Ethereum or other blockchain operators, and cannot be blocked,” XLab wrote.
The text records included in Kimwolf’s ENS instructions can also feature short messages, such as those that carried Brundage’s personal information. Other ENS text records associated with Kimwolf offered some sage advice: “If flagged, we encourage the TV box to be destroyed.”
An ENS record tied to the Kimwolf botnet advises, “If flagged, we encourage the TV box to be destroyed.”
Both Synthient and XLabs say Kimwolf targets a vast number of Android TV streaming box models, all of which have zero security protections, and many of which ship with proxy malware built in. Generally speaking, if you can send a data packet to one of these devices you can also seize administrative control over it.
If you own a TV box that matches one of these model names and/or numbers, please just rip it out of your network. If you encounter one of these devices on the network of a family member or friend, send them a link to this story (or to our January 2 story on Kimwolf) and explain that it’s not worth the potential hassle and harm created by keeping them plugged in.
Article tags
SherlockChain is a powerful smart contract analysis framework that combines the capabilities of the renowned Slither tool with advanced AI-powered features. Developed by a team of security experts and AI researchers, SherlockChain offers unparalleled insights and vulnerability detection for Solidity, Vyper and Plutus smart contracts.
To install SherlockChain, follow these steps:
FreshRSS git clone https://github.com/0xQuantumCoder/SherlockChain.git
cd SherlockChain
pip install .
SherlockChain's AI integration brings several advanced capabilities to the table:
Natural Language Interaction: Users can interact with SherlockChain using natural language, allowing them to query the tool, request specific analyses, and receive detailed responses. he --help command in the SherlockChain framework provides a comprehensive overview of all the available options and features. It includes information on:
Vulnerability Detection: The --detect and --exclude-detectors options allow users to specify which vulnerability detectors to run, including both built-in and AI-powered detectors.
--report-format, --report-output, and various --report-* options control how the analysis results are reported, including the ability to generate reports in different formats (JSON, Markdown, SARIF, etc.).--filter-* options enable users to filter the reported issues based on severity, impact, confidence, and other criteria.--ai-* options allow users to configure and control the AI-powered features of SherlockChain, such as prioritizing high-impact vulnerabilities, enabling specific AI detectors, and managing AI model configurations.--truffle and --truffle-build-directory facilitate the integration of SherlockChain into popular development frameworks like Truffle.The --help command provides a detailed explanation of each option, its purpose, and how to use it, making it a valuable resource for users to quickly understand and leverage the full capabilities of the SherlockChain framework.
Example usage:
sherlockchain --help
This will display the comprehensive usage guide for the SherlockChain framework, including all available options and their descriptions.
usage: sherlockchain [-h] [--version] [--solc-remaps SOLC_REMAPS] [--solc-settings SOLC_SETTINGS]
[--solc-version SOLC_VERSION] [--truffle] [--truffle-build-directory TRUFFLE_BUILD_DIRECTORY]
[--truffle-config-file TRUFFLE_CONFIG_FILE] [--compile] [--list-detectors]
[--list-detectors-info] [--detect DETECTORS] [--exclude-detectors EXCLUDE_DETECTORS]
[--print-issues] [--json] [--markdown] [--sarif] [--text] [--zip] [--output OUTPUT]
[--filter-paths FILTER_PATHS] [--filter-paths-exclude FILTER_PATHS_EXCLUDE]
[--filter-contracts FILTER_CONTRACTS] [--filter-contracts-exclude FILTER_CONTRACTS_EXCLUDE]
[--filter-severity FILTER_SEVERITY] [--filter-impact FILTER_IMPACT]
[--filter-confidence FILTER_CONFIDENCE] [--filter-check-suicidal]
[--filter-check-upgradeable] [--f ilter-check-erc20] [--filter-check-erc721]
[--filter-check-reentrancy] [--filter-check-gas-optimization] [--filter-check-code-quality]
[--filter-check-best-practices] [--filter-check-ai-detectors] [--filter-check-all]
[--filter-check-none] [--check-all] [--check-suicidal] [--check-upgradeable]
[--check-erc20] [--check-erc721] [--check-reentrancy] [--check-gas-optimization]
[--check-code-quality] [--check-best-practices] [--check-ai-detectors] [--check-none]
[--check-all-detectors] [--check-all-severity] [--check-all-impact] [--check-all-confidence]
[--check-all-categories] [--check-all-filters] [--check-all-options] [--check-all]
[--check-none] [--report-format {json,markdown,sarif,text,zip}] [--report-output OUTPUT]
[--report-severity REPORT_SEVERITY] [--report-impact R EPORT_IMPACT]
[--report-confidence REPORT_CONFIDENCE] [--report-check-suicidal]
[--report-check-upgradeable] [--report-check-erc20] [--report-check-erc721]
[--report-check-reentrancy] [--report-check-gas-optimization] [--report-check-code-quality]
[--report-check-best-practices] [--report-check-ai-detectors] [--report-check-all]
[--report-check-none] [--report-all] [--report-suicidal] [--report-upgradeable]
[--report-erc20] [--report-erc721] [--report-reentrancy] [--report-gas-optimization]
[--report-code-quality] [--report-best-practices] [--report-ai-detectors] [--report-none]
[--report-all-detectors] [--report-all-severity] [--report-all-impact]
[--report-all-confidence] [--report-all-categories] [--report-all-filters]
[--report-all-options] [- -report-all] [--report-none] [--ai-enabled] [--ai-disabled]
[--ai-priority-high] [--ai-priority-medium] [--ai-priority-low] [--ai-priority-all]
[--ai-priority-none] [--ai-confidence-high] [--ai-confidence-medium] [--ai-confidence-low]
[--ai-confidence-all] [--ai-confidence-none] [--ai-detectors-all] [--ai-detectors-none]
[--ai-detectors-specific AI_DETECTORS_SPECIFIC] [--ai-detectors-exclude AI_DETECTORS_EXCLUDE]
[--ai-models-path AI_MODELS_PATH] [--ai-models-update] [--ai-models-download]
[--ai-models-list] [--ai-models-info] [--ai-models-version] [--ai-models-check]
[--ai-models-upgrade] [--ai-models-remove] [--ai-models-clean] [--ai-models-reset]
[--ai-models-backup] [--ai-models-restore] [--ai-models-export] [--ai-models-import]
[--ai-models-config AI_MODELS_CONFIG] [--ai-models-config-update] [--ai-models-config-reset]
[--ai-models-config-export] [--ai-models-config-import] [--ai-models-config-list]
[--ai-models-config-info] [--ai-models-config-version] [--ai-models-config-check]
[--ai-models-config-upgrade] [--ai-models-config-remove] [--ai-models-config-clean]
[--ai-models-config-reset] [--ai-models-config-backup] [--ai-models-config-restore]
[--ai-models-config-export] [--ai-models-config-import] [--ai-models-config-path AI_MODELS_CONFIG_PATH]
[--ai-models-config-file AI_MODELS_CONFIG_FILE] [--ai-models-config-url AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL]
[--ai-models-config-name AI_MODELS_CONFIG_NAME] [--ai-models-config-description AI_MODELS_CONFIG_DESCRIPTION]
[--ai-models-config-version-major AI_MODELS_CONFIG_VERSION_MAJOR]
[--ai-models-config- version-minor AI_MODELS_CONFIG_VERSION_MINOR]
[--ai-models-config-version-patch AI_MODELS_CONFIG_VERSION_PATCH]
[--ai-models-config-author AI_MODELS_CONFIG_AUTHOR]
[--ai-models-config-license AI_MODELS_CONFIG_LICENSE]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION]
[--ai-models-config-url-source AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_SOURCE]
[--ai-models-config-url-issues AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_ISSUES]
[--ai-models-config-url-changelog AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_CHANGELOG]
[--ai-models-config-url-support AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_SUPPORT]
[--ai-models-config-url-website AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_WEBSITE]
[--ai-models-config-url-logo AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_LOGO]
[--ai-models-config-url-icon AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_ICON]
[--ai-models-config-url-banner AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_BANNER]
[--ai-models-config-url-screenshot AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_SCREENSHOT]
[--ai-models-config-url-video AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_VIDEO]
[--ai-models-config-url-demo AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DEMO]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-api AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_API]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-user AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_USER]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-developer AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_DEVELOPER]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-faq AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_FAQ]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-tutorial AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_TUTORIAL]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-guide AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_GUIDE]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-whitepaper AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_WHITEPAPER]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-roadmap AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_ROADMAP]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-blog AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_BLOG]
[--ai-models-config-url-documentation-community AI_MODELS_CONFIG_URL_DOCUMENTATION_COMMUNITY]
This comprehensive usage guide provides information on all the available options and features of the SherlockChain framework, including:
--detect, --exclude-detectors
--report-format, --report-output, --report-*
--filter-*
--ai-*
--truffle, --truffle-build-directory
--compile, --list-detectors, --list-detectors-info
By reviewing this comprehensive usage guide, you can quickly understand how to leverage the full capabilities of the SherlockChain framework to analyze your smart contracts and identify potential vulnerabilities. This will help you ensure the security and reliability of your DeFi protocol before deployment.
| Num | Detector | What it Detects | Impact | Confidence |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ai-anomaly-detection | Detect anomalous code patterns using advanced AI models | High | High |
| 2 | ai-vulnerability-prediction | Predict potential vulnerabilities using machine learning | High | High |
| 3 | ai-code-optimization | Suggest code optimizations based on AI-driven analysis | Medium | High |
| 4 | ai-contract-complexity | Assess contract complexity and maintainability using AI | Medium | High |
| 5 | ai-gas-optimization | Identify gas-optimizing opportunities with AI | Medium | Medium |
| ## Detectors |
Since the European Union (EU) signed the second version of the Network and Information Security (NIS2) Directive in December 2022, there has been a real frenzy all around Europe about it. NIS2 is now… Read more on Cisco Blogs
