What is a Botnet?
Having your computer, mobile device, home network, or smart home infected with botnet malware can lead to major security vulnerabilities. In addition to the obvious dangers of data theft, bots can also open back doors in your network. They can also be used to perform Distributed Denial of Service attacks and deliver spam emails.
While there are many reasons why botnets are created, they usually have one thing in common – they are created by cybercriminals. They are generally operated by organized gangs of online criminals. This makes them a lucrative business, as the barriers to creation are very low.
A botnet consists of an interconnected network of hacked computers that are infected with malware. They can be used to launch attacks, steal data, and perform click fraud campaigns. In the past, bots have been known to send spam emails, but in recent years they have also been used to perform distributed denial of service attacks.
The Mirai botnet, for example, is associated with IoT devices and has been involved in the most disruptive DDoS attacks. It also targets online consumer devices, including IP cameras, home routers, and Linux devices. It was used to attack Cloudflare and Yandex earlier this year.
The first botnets were created as IRC bots. Those early botnets relied on a client/server model, where one server provided command and control for all client computers. Today, bots use either a client/server or peer-to-peer model.
Bots can self-reproduce, or they can be controlled by a master. They can also be created by exploiting vulnerabilities in a web browser or in a server. In addition to their self-reproducibility, bots can capture more information than worms. They can also capture keystrokes, passwords, and other information.