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Botnets

Bredolab botnet mastermind sentenced to four years

Dan Kaplan May 23, 2012

An Armenian man charged in 2010 with running the Bredolab botnet was sentenced this week in his home country to four years in prison.

Botnets: The backdoor to the enterprise network

Tomer Teller, security researcher and evangelist at Check Point Software Technologies May 21, 2012

Compromising anywhere from a few thousand to well over a million systems, botnets are used by cyber criminals to take over computers and execute illegal and damaging activities.

Apple says it is working to shut down Flashback infections

Dan Kaplan April 11, 2012

The company said it is creating software that will detect and remove Flashback, as well as coordinating with global ISPs to dismantle the botnet's infrastructure.

Zeus' coffin not yet closed as domains still living

Dan Kaplan April 04, 2012

Three domains, which are feeding instructions to computers infected with the Zeus trojan, still are operational despite a Microsoft-led effort to disable the botnet, according to researchers at security firm FireEye.

Microsoft zaps Zeus command centers used in bank fraud

Dan Kaplan March 26, 2012

Banking trojan Zeus and its related families, which have looted a number of small and midsize businesses to the tune of millions, may be partially crippled after the latest Microsoft botnet enforcement effort.

Malware Incorporated: Turning your data into their dreams

Stephen Cobb, security evangelist at ESET March 08, 2012

Who is behind the production, distribution and exploitation of malicious software today? Knowing the answer is a vital tool in the fight against cyber crime.

Can you stamp out spambots? No, but you can help

Michelle Drolet, founder and CEO, Towerwall February 16, 2012

Trying to solve the spam epidemic? It might be time for organizations to look inward, as machines that are unknowingly seeded with malware are the reason for the botnet scourge.

Android botnet may net millions yearly for its operators

Dan Kaplan February 10, 2012

Researchers from Symantec and North Carolina State University may have stumbled upon one of the largest and most lucrative mobile botnets yet.

Accused Kelihos spam botmaster: It wasn't me, Microsoft

Dan Kaplan January 30, 2012

A Russian computer programmer has denied allegations by Microsoft that he was responsible for manning a prolific spam botnet.

Microsoft names Russian man in Kelihos botnet suit

Dan Kaplan January 24, 2012

Microsoft believes it has found the person responsible for the spam-pushing Kelihos botnet, according to a new lawsuit.

U.S, Asian nations dominate spam-sender list

Dan Kaplan November 02, 2011

The United States has maintained the dubious distinction of being the world's No. 1 relayer of spam, but Asian countries are catching up quickly.

Feedback due on gov't proposal around botnet notification

Dan Kaplan November 01, 2011

Friday is the deadline for public comments regarding a government proposal to create a model by which internet service providers voluntarily alert consumers if their computers are part of a botnet.

Two minutes on: Are ISPs obliged to squash botnets?

Dan Kaplan November 01, 2011

Is it an ISP's responsibility to combat botnets, asks SC Magazine Executive Editor Dan Kaplan.

Microsoft drops botnet suit, asks former defendant for help

Dan Kaplan October 26, 2011

Microsoft has dropped a complaint against a Czech Republic man and his company in relation to their alleged involvement in controlling a recently dismantled botnet.

Microsoft disrupts Kelihos botnet, names alleged mastermind

Angela Moscaritolo September 27, 2011

The Kelihos botnet, made up of approximately 41,000 infected computers worldwide, was capable of sending 3.8 billion spam emails per day.

DHS, Commerce pushing for voluntary botnet notification

Dan Kaplan September 23, 2011

The U.S. Commerce and Homeland Security departments are seeking public feedback on a recommended program by which internet service providers would "voluntarily and timely detect and notify end-users that their machines have been infected," a move designed help eradicate botnets. According to a notice posted this week in the Federal Register, the agencies are weighing how such an approach would be implemented, for example, incentives may be offered to service providers that participate, and who would be responsible for running the program - industry, the public sector or a partnership between both. Public comments, which must be received by Nov. 4, are expected to examine a number of areas, including the privacy implications of such an approach.

Android botnet infections on the uptick

Angela Moscaritolo September 09, 2011

Mobile botnets are nowhere near as big as PC zombie networks, but the threat is growing, according to a new report from Damballa.

Morto using DNS for command-and-control

Angela Moscaritolo August 31, 2011

A Windows worm known as Morto uses a unique way for infected machines to phone home for instructions.

McAfee fires back at Shady RAT criticism

Angela Moscaritolo August 22, 2011

McAfee has fired back at critics of its report on Operation Shady RAT, and said the CEO of rival anti-virus maker Kaspersky Lab, who called the report "alarmist," missed the whole point of the expose.

Microsoft offers $250K reward to find Rustock masterminds

Dan Kaplan July 18, 2011

Redmond remains steadfast in its effort to imprison those responsible for one of history's largest botnets.

After a botnet falls, infected PCs drop by more than half

Dan Kaplan July 05, 2011

More than half of Rustock-infected machines have been cleaned since Microsoft led a joint effort earlier this year to shut down the prolific botnet.

New "indestructible" botnet comprised of 4.5 million PCs

Angela Moscaritolo July 01, 2011

A new botnet made up of more than 4.5 million infected computers is "practically indestructible," according to researchers at Kaspersky Lab. But some disagree.

Debate: The U.S. government was justified to take control of Coreflood bot servers.

June 01, 2011

The U.S. government was justified to take control of Coreflood bot servers.

Rustock and Coreflood: a call to arms for strategic offensive action

David LaMacchia and Jamie Tomasello, Cloudmark; Jon Praed, founding partner, Internet Law Group May 19, 2011

Two recent botnet takedowns have demonstrated why going on the offensive is a viable way to cleanse compromised computers. But such tactics may set questionable precedents.

Security education: We're doing it wrong

Lysa Myers, director of research, West Coast Labs April 21, 2011

Most PC owners are thinking about security protection from a pre-botnet perspective.

Man sentenced for using botnet against media sites

Dan Kaplan April 20, 2011

A Kansas City man has been sentenced to two years in prison after he was found guilty in September of creating a virus and amassing a 100,000-node botnet to launch DDoS attacks against a number of websites, including Rolling Stone and Radar. Bruce Raisley, 48, launched the attacks against sites that published articles detailing an incident in which he agreed to leave his wife for a "woman" whom he met on the internet, according to prosecutors. As it turned out, his newfound lover actually was Xavier Von Erck, head of Perverted Justice, an anti-pedophile vigilante group, who hatched the cruel joke to avenge for Raisley publicly slamming and threatening the organization after he stopped volunteering there. Raisley, who was sentenced last week, also must pay more than $90,000 in fines and serve three years of supervised release following his term.