What is a Botnet?

Threat Type: Botnet

Threat Category: Malware-Based Threat

Cyber Threat Indicators

A botnet is a compromised network of internet-connected devices that have been infected with malware and controlled remotely by a "bot herder" or "botmaster"

Each compromised device is referred to as a bot or zombie computer. The attacker uses the collective power of these devices to launch coordinated, large-scale malicious attacks without the owners' knowledge.

Core Characteristic

The key features that define a botnet are:

Remote Control (Command and Control - C&C): The bot-herder manages the entire network from a single, remote location. They issue commands through a Command and Control (C&C) server or channel, and all the infected bots execute those commands simultaneously.

Scale and Distribution: Botnets typically comprise thousands to millions of devices, which can be geographically dispersed. This massive scale makes their attacks far more powerful and difficult to block, as the malicious traffic originates from many different, seemingly legitimate IP addresses.

Stealth and Persistence: The malware is designed to operate in the background, often unnoticed by the device owner, to ensure the bot remains available for an extended period. The bot-herder can also frequently update the malware to evade detection.

Automation: The botnet is an automated tool that can perform repetitive, high-volume tasks quickly and efficiently, making large-scale attacks easier and cheaper for the cybercriminal.

Versatility: A botnet is not limited to a single type of attack and can be used for various malicious activities, from sending spam to crashing websites.

Resilience (Decentralization): Modern botnets often use a Peer-to-Peer (P2P) architecture instead of a single C&C server. In this decentralized model, bots communicate directly with each other to share updates and commands. This makes the botnet much harder to take down because disrupting one central server isn't enough to stop the entire operation.

Common Examples and Tactics

Botnets are the engine behind some of the most disruptive cyberattacks.

Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks: The most common use. The botnet floods a target server, website, or network with an overwhelming volume of traffic, consuming its resources and causing it to crash or become inaccessible to legitimate users.

Spam and Phishing: Used to send massive volumes of spam emails, often containing malicious links or attachments, to a wide audience. This is both a primary use of the botnet (sending spam) and a method for growing the botnet (phishing for new victims).

Credential Theft: The bots execute brute-force attacks by systematically guessing passwords or use keyloggers to record a user's keystrokes, aiming to steal login credentials for financial or other sensitive accounts.

Cryptojacking: The bot-herder harnesses the combined processing power of all the infected devices to mine cryptocurrencies without the owners' knowledge, effectively stealing electricity and computational resources for profit.

Click Fraud: Bots are programmed to simulate fake clicks on online advertisements, generating fraudulent revenue for the bot-herder or driving up costs for the advertiser.

Notorious Botnets

Mirai: IoT devices (routers, DVRs, IP cameras) with default or weak credentials.Launched one of the largest DDoS attacks in history in 2016, briefly taking down major websites like Twitter, Netflix, and PayPal.

Emotet: Initially a banking trojan, it evolved into a sophisticated botnet used to distribute other malware (like ransomware and other banking Trojans).Known for spreading through highly convincing phishing emails and being difficult to detect.

Zeus (Zbot): Windows-based systems.Specialized in stealing financial and banking credentials through keylogging and form-grabbing, responsible for stealing hundreds of millions of dollars.

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