Protecting Your Devices From Botnet Attacks
A Botnet is a network of computers or devices infected with malware and under the control of a hacker. These devices can then be used to launch malicious attacks, such as DDoS attacks or financial breaches. The infected devices are usually computers or cell phones, but increasingly, smart home appliances and other connected “Internet of Things” (IoT) devices have become targets of malware infection. Keeping your device security suites up to date and using antivirus software can help you prevent infection.
The first step in a typical botnet attack is for the malware to scan systems or devices for vulnerabilities, often times targeting those that are out of date or unpatched. Once the malware is in place, it will communicate with a bot herder or server to get the instructions for its automated tasks. The more bots that a hacker can connect to the botnet, the more computing power and functionality they have for attacking victims.
Some early botnets used a client-server model in which all bots were directed to a central server for their commands and updates, relying on Internet Relay Chat (IRC) or HTTP communications protocols to mask the communication and avoid detection. However, these centralized models are easy to spot and shut down, and newer botnets use more advanced methods of communicating that make them harder to detect.
Some of the most notorious botnets are Mirai, which has infected thousands of IoT devices, and ZeroAccess, which infects Windows operating systems to steal cryptojacking revenue and perform other malicious activities. As attackers continue to evolve their botnets, protecting yourself requires ongoing efforts that are similar to those needed to protect against traditional computer viruses.