China-linked hackers have turned millions of household routers, webcams, and smart devices into invisible armies of proxies, masking their intrusions into critical networks worldwide. A joint advisory from cybersecurity agencies across 10 nations, including the U.S. FBI, CISA, and the UK’s NCSC, lays bare this tactic on April 23, 2026. These covert networks—botnets in plain sight—enable data theft, persistent access, and potential sabotage, all while evading detection. And the scale? Massive. Groups like Volt Typhoon and Flax Typhoon share these infrastructures, prepositioning for disruptive attacks on everything from U.S. power grids to telecom backbones. The advisory warns: “Anyone who is a target of China-nexus cyber actors may be impacted by the use of covert networks.” It’s not hyperbole. Volt Typhoon, a PRC-backed crew, assembled its KV Botnet from end-of-life Cisco and Netgear routers, burrowing into American critical infrastructure for years.…