White House Network IP Addresses Found in Paid Proxy Services
Researchers from Layer3 Intel detected third-party traffic passing through six addresses in the network of the Executive Office of the President of the United States. This does not prove a breach of the White House's internal systems.
The company Layer3 Intel identified exit nodes of residential proxies within the AS2650 network, which is registered to the Executive Office of the President of the United States.
From October 5 to November 3, researchers recorded 236 exits of their test requests through six addresses in this network. Activity was observed over 26 days. According to their data, access to these exits was provided by 28 proxy services.
Residential proxies route client requests through third-party devices. The visited website sees the address of the exit node rather than the original user.
Layer3 Intel suggests that the cause could have been an application with an embedded proxy component on a device connected to the network. However, the researchers explicitly state that their data does not allow identifying a specific device or individual.
The company warns that poorly secured proxy components can create additional risks for internal networks. However, the possibility of such penetration in this specific case has not been demonstrated.
Thus, the issue involves researcher-confirmed proxy traffic exiting through addresses of the agency's network, rather than proven access by service customers to the White House's systems.
