What Happens When You Become Part of a Botnet?
Imagine your laptop, smartphone, smart fridge or other IoT device working behind your back to carry out commands from someone you’ve never met. That’s essentially what happens when you become part of a botnet. These massive, shadowy networks are responsible for some of the world’s most damaging cyberattacks. Here’s what you need to know about how they work—and how to protect yourself from them.
Step 1: Infection
A botnet begins when malware infects a computer or other device. This can happen through phishing emails, infected software downloads or vulnerabilities in operating systems and applications. Infected devices can then self-replicate to infect more machines and devices. Botnet malware can also use obfuscation and encryption techniques to hide from detection by signature-based security tools.
Step 2: Command and control (C&C) server
Once a botnet is in place, the hacker or attacker—the botmaster—uses a C&C server to communicate with the infected devices. From the server, bots receive commands to execute tasks ranging from reconnaissance and information gathering to DDoS attacks and spam campaigns. The bots then report the results of their tasks to the botmaster.
As the number of infected devices grows, botnets are increasingly used to launch targeted attacks on businesses. These include DDoS attacks, which overwhelm servers with fake traffic to cause disruptions and a loss of real-world revenue, and data theft from the affected device. You can reduce the risk of your business becoming a victim by installing security updates, practicing safe online browsing habits and encouraging employees to use two-factor authentication (2FA) to access company accounts from outside the office.