Alarum pauses NetNut traffic after FBI domain seizures deepen

A proxy business pulled into the spotlight

Alarum Technologies said it will temporarily pause traffic through certain NetNut network services for several days while it investigates domain seizures tied to its residential proxy business.stocktitan The July 6 update followed earlier disclosures that the FBI had seized some NetNut-associated domains on July 2 and that additional domains were later taken, disrupting part of Alarum's services.stocktitan +1

The company warned that extended disruption could have a material adverse effect on operations, financial results and its ability to provide certain services to customers.stocktitan Alarum said it is devoting substantial technical and operational resources to the review, assessing affected infrastructure and whether malicious activity occurred before resuming normal operations.stocktitan

The inquiry reaches beyond one company

Residential proxy networks route internet traffic through consumer devices so users can appear to be in another location. They can be used for legitimate web testing, price comparison and regional access, but security researchers and law-enforcement officials have increasingly focused on cases where devices are enrolled without clear consent or used to hide fraud and cyberattacks.claimsjournal

Bloomberg, republished by Claims Journal, reported that FBI agents have examined possible links between NetNut and Popa, software allegedly used to co-opt home devices into a proxy network without owners' knowledge.claimsjournal KrebsOnSecurity reported that the FBI worked with industry partners to seize hundreds of domains associated with NetNut and Popa, after multiple security firms connected the proxy platform to at least 2 million compromised devices.krebsonsecurity

The open question is duration

Alarum has said it will cooperate with law enforcement and investigate any misuse of its infrastructure, while noting in its July 3 update that neither it nor NetNut had been formally contacted by the FBI or another regulator at that time.stocktitan +1 TipRanks framed the disclosures as a near-term operational and compliance risk for customers using NetNut services and investors tracking business continuity.tipranks

The stakes are amplified by Alarum's recent growth in proxy services. The company reported first-quarter revenue of $11.7 million in May, up 64% from a year earlier, and attributed the increase mainly to demand for proxy solutions and new products, according to the Bloomberg report.claimsjournal The immediate test is whether the pause remains a short investigation window or becomes a longer disruption to the infrastructure that has driven that growth.stocktitan +1