KmsdBot potentially a DDoS-for-hire service

Akamai researchers hypothesized that the KmsdBot botnet, which has been used to target security firms, luxury brands, and game modifiers for "Red Dead Redemption 2" and "Grand Theft Auto V," may have been a DDoS-for-hire service, with most of its victims scattered across North America, Europe, and Asia, reports The Hacker News. "The presence of these commands tracks with previous observations of targeted gaming servers and offers a glimpse into the customers of this botnet for hire," said Akamai researchers Allen West and Larry W. Cashdollar. The report showed that KmsdBot, which has been disrupted last month due to the absence of an error-checking mechanism in its source code, was able to receive 18 various commands from a remote server, with the "bigdata" command facilitating junk packet delivery to increase bandwidth being the most common. "This tells us that although gaming servers are a specific target offered, it may not be the only industry that is being hit with these attacks. Support for multiple types of servers increases the overall usability of this botnet and appears to be effective in driving in customers," said researchers. "The presence of these commands tracks with previous observations of targeted gaming servers and offers a glimpse into the customers of this botnet for hire," said Akamai researchers Allen West and Larry W. Cashdollar. The report showed that KmsdBot, which has been disrupted last month due to the absence of an error-checking mechanism in its source code, was able to receive 18 various commands from a remote server, with the "bigdata" command facilitating junk packet delivery to increase bandwidth being the most common. "This tells us that although gaming servers are a specific target offered, it may not be the only industry that is being hit with these attacks. Support for multiple types of servers increases the overall usability of this botnet and appears to be effective in driving in customers," said researchers.