How Does a Botnet Work?
A Botnet is a network of infected devices that work together to perform cyberattacks. The attacker, called a bot herder, remotely controls each device in the botnet to automate and execute illegal actions such as data theft, server failure, spam email generation, DDoS attacks, and more.
Infecting devices with malware
To begin building a botnet, the hacker (bot herder) must first infect a device with the right malicious code. This can be done via a variety of means, including exploiting security gaps in software or websites, phishing emails, and even through compromised IoT (Internet of Things) devices like home routers.
Once a device is infected, it will monitor for instructions sent to it through a botnet’s command and control (C2) infrastructure. This can be done through a number of channels including social media posts, replies to DNS queries, and other ways that may not require direct communication between the bot and the C2 server.
Once the bot has established a connection, it will be ready to take action. Depending on the attack, this can be anything from stealing private user data, monitoring system activity, performing DDoS attacks, sending spam, crypto mining, and more. Some of these attacks are incredibly difficult to detect because they happen behind the scenes. However, one key sign that a computer is being infected with botnet malware is if it is unable to download and install software updates.