In other posts last year, according to Kela’s analysis, cybercrime forum users recommended Big Mama or shared tips about configurations people should use. In April of this year, the security company Cisco Talos SAYS it sees traffic from Big Mama Proxy, along with other proxies, used by attackers trying to force their way into various company systems.

Mixed Messages

Big Mama has few details about its ownership or leadership on its website. The company’s terms of service state that a business called BigMama SRL is registered in Romania, although a previous version of website from 2022and at least one live page nowlists a legal address for BigMama LLC in Wyoming. The US-based business dissolved in April and is now listed as inactive, according to the Wyoming Secretary of State’s website.

A person using the name Alex A responded to an email from WIRED about how Big Mama operates. In the email, they said that information about free user connections sold by third parties through the Big Mama Network “has been duplicated in the app market and in the application itself several times,” and people should accept in the conditions of the conditions to be used. the VPN. They say that Big Mama VPN is officially available only from the Google Play Store.

“We do not advertise and have never advertised our services on the forums you mentioned,” the email said. They said they were unaware of the April findings from Talos about its network being used as part of a cyberattack. “We block spam, DDOS, SSH as well as local network etc. We log user activity to cooperate with law enforcement agencies,” the email said.

Alex A persona asked WIRED to send it more details about adverts on cybercrime forums, details about Talos findings, and information about teenagers using Big Mom on Oculus devices, which -said they would be “happy” to answer more questions. However, they did not respond to any further emails with more details about the research findings and questions about their security measures, although they believe someone impersonated Big Mama to -post on cybercrime forums, the identity of Alex A, or who runs the company.

During its analysis, Trend Micro’s Hilt said the company also found a security vulnerability within Big Mama VPN, which could have allowed a proxy user to access the a person’s local network when exploited. The company says it reported the error to Big Mama, which fixed it within a week, a detail confirmed by Alex A.

Finally, Hilt said, there are potential risks when someone downloads and uses a free VPN. “All free VPNs have a trade-off with privacy or security concerns,” he said. That applies to people who side-load their VR headsets. “When you download applications from the internet that are not from official stores, there is always an inherent risk that it is not what you think. And that is true even with Oculus devices.”