What is a Botnet?
A botnet is a network of computers or other internet-enabled devices – including IoT systems like routers, cameras and thermostats – infected with malware that allows attackers to control them remotely. A botnet is used to perform malicious activities such as launching DDoS attacks, scanning networks for vulnerabilities, and collecting sensitive information. The people behind a botnet are known as “bot herders” and the individual compromised devices in the botnet are referred to as bots.
Bots are the brains of a botnet, and they can be controlled by an attacker from a remote location. The bot software is able to communicate with a central command server, typically through a web browser or IRC (Internet Relay Chat) client, to receive commands and send data back. The bots also connect to other infected systems on the network, allowing them to perform CPU-intensive tasks such as data collection and brute force password guessing.
Threat actors often use bots to carry out other malicious tasks as well, including stealing sensitive information, spamming their contacts, and click fraud. Since these bots are rogue applications that bypass anti-virus and AV software, they can be difficult to detect. Additionally, they can mutate to evade detection by traditional malware signatures.
There are several approaches to disabling botnets, including taking down their command and control servers, and removing the bot malware from infected systems. For IoT devices, this may require a factory reset or reformatting the device’s firmware.