July 2 (Reuters) - Alphabet's Google said on

Thursday it weakened a large network of internet-connected

devices that was being used to hide and route malicious online

activity.

The tech giant said it took action against the NetNut

residential proxy network, also known as Popa, in partnership

with the FBI and Lumen, among others.

Google said it disabled accounts and services used in

NetNut-related malware command-and-control operations and shared

technical intelligence on the group's infrastructure with law

enforcement and industry partners to support broader enforcement

efforts.

Residential proxy networks allow users to route internet

traffic through consumer IP addresses, which can mask the origin

of online activity and help bypass security defenses. Such

networks can be used for legitimate purposes, but they are also

often abused for cybercrime because they obscure the true source

of traffic.

"We believe our coordinated actions have caused significant

degradation to NetNut's proxy network and its business

operations, reducing the available pool of devices for the proxy

operator by millions," Google said in a blog.

NetNut offers rotating residential, ISP, mobile, and

datacenter proxies. It was founded in 2017 as a subsidiary of

Alarum Technologies, a cybersecurity firm in Israel.