Botnets are large networks of internet-connected devices that have been infected with malware. One company in China, with links to the government, has amassed an arsenal of 260,000 such devices around the world.

The National Cyber Security Centre has urged firms to protect themselves from a China-backed ‘botnet’ of thousands of compromised devices.

The National Cyber Security Centre issued the warning alongside its Five Eyes counterparts in the US, Canada, Australia and New Zealand

The United States and allied countries said Wednesday they had taken control of a network of 260,000 internet-connected cameras, routers and other devices that the Chinese government had been using to spy on sensitive organizations.