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Digital Citizens Alliance Launches National Campaign to Prevent Hijacking of Home Internet Devices by Cybercriminals and Foreign Threat ActorsNew research finds more than 20 million U.S. Internet connections are being exploited to enable fraud, cyberattacks, and national security threats. WASHINGTON, June 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- The Digital Citizens Alliance today announced the launch of a consumer awareness campaign to protect American households from cybercriminals and foreign threat actors looking to hijack U.S. Internet connections to commit a wide range of criminal and other illicit activities. The campaign is born from Digital Citizens' research released today, Cybercrime by Doorbell: How Illicit Actors "Borrow" the Internet Connections of Millions of Americans for Profit and Harm. The report details how devices such as smart doorbells, streaming boxes, routers, and free Virtual Private Network (VPN) applications are used by illicit actors to route malicious online activity through American households. An estimated 20 million U.S. Internet Protocol (IP) connections are exposed to exploitation after users give illicit actors access to them, often unknowingly. Researchers purchased popular Android streaming boxes, including the VSeeBox V5 Pro sold through Walmart's online marketplace. They discovered that the devices immediately connected to servers in China, transmitted device information, and accepted remote commands capable of installing or removing software. Cybercriminals and foreign adversaries exploit these networks because traffic originating from a legitimate American household appears trustworthy to websites, banks, and security systems. That allows illicit actors to avoid detection while carrying out attacks that may ultimately be traced back to innocent consumers. U.S. intelligence and cybersecurity officials are increasingly concerned that nation-state actors are using residential Internet connections to target American critical infrastructure, like the China-linked "Volt Typhoon" operations that used compromised residential routers and devices to mask attacks against U.S. infrastructure systems. These devices are often hijacked after an American user downloads free apps, connects piracy devices to their home network, or gives companies access to their excess bandwidth for payment. Once exploited, these IP connections can be used to facilitate fraud, credential theft, cyberattacks, child exploitation, and state-sponsored espionage. "There is growing awareness in the technical and business communities about how IP connections are hijacked and exploited, but most American consumers are unaware of how more than 2 billion Internet-connected devices in their homes can be exploited," said Tom Galvin, executive director of DCA. "When residential IP connections are hijacke, it enables illicit actors to disguise their real location and identity to commit crimes, putting Americans' Internet security at risk. Americans need to know the risks to protect themselves." Yet, many Americans are unaware of how many Internet-connected devices are in their homes and the risks posed by activities such as downloading free apps from the Internet or connecting piracy devices to their home network, according to a June Digital Citizens research survey of 1,005 Americans. While a typical U.S. home has roughly 17 Internet-connected devices, more than half of Americans think they have 10 or fewer in their home. And there is a troubling correlation between risky behaviors and Americans' reports of cybersecurity issues. According to the survey, Americans who said they downloaded free apps – such as VPNs or other services – were 15 times more likely to be warned by their Internet service provider about suspicious activity on their home network and 3 times more likely to report a breach of financial or personal information. Likewise, Americans who said they connected a so-called piracy device to their home network were twice as likely to report being a victim of malware or having their Internet connection accessed without their permission. "What makes residential proxy networks so dangerous is that most Americans have no idea their home connection could already be part of this infrastructure," said Cory Wolff, director, Armada Proactive Services at risk3sixty. "The vast majority of internet connections used in these residential proxy networks carry extremely high fraud scores tied to criminal activity, yet it's the consumer who ends up blacklisted or flagged when enforcement comes knocking." Consumer Awareness Campaign The Digital Citizens' awareness campaign includes:
A social media campaign that:
Key Investigative Findings
Existing laws and industry standards have not kept pace with the growing threat posed by compromised consumer devices and residential Internet connections. Policymakers, manufacturers, and service providers must work together to strengthen protections for consumers and national security. U.S. laws fail to hold Internet providers and device manufacturers to a standard. There is no international certification for Internet connections, even though they enable state-sponsored attacks against the United States and billions in cybercrime. Given the threats that residential Internet-connected products pose to American interests – consumers, businesses, and national security – it's time for policymakers to learn what those threats are. The full report, Cybercrime by Doorbell, is available now. Adam Benson
SOURCE Digital Citizens Alliance 
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