Botnets Botnets are a group of computers that all interconnected forming their own network and communicate by send messages between each other and mostly it is malicious code used to obtain personal or financial information.
“During a DDoS attack, a website can slow to a halt and even shut down completely due to the influx of traffic from a botnet” (www.pwnieexpress.com). They are used usually for DDoS attacks which is to basically cause downtime for a personal or business website. They can target any business that they want to with these attacks causing mayhem. Some specific types of businesses that botnets target would be software creators like Microsoft or Apple.
“We have seen malicious software being created for all major operating systems. Regrouping infected devices into networks, or botnets, is feasible for every platform. An example is the Flashback malware, which infected hundreds of thousands of Mac devices” (Cobb, 2014). An example is from twitter where these cyber criminals make fake accounts to get followers and eventually sponsors to pay them with the use of botnets and essentially steal money. “At the start of 2017, it was discovered that there were over 350 000 Twitter accounts that were unauthentic. These accounts were all part of one (yes, one) network” (Abadullah, 2017). Ways to combat these botnet attacks are according to Stephen cobb are for users to download antimalware software, be educated about botnets, and for collaboration between users and ISPs to enforce laws and combat them.Works CitedAbadullah, M.
(2017). Botnets in 2017 – Everything You Need to Know. Retrieved, from https://imptrax.com/blog/botnets-in-2017-everything-you-need-to-knowCobb, S. (2014, October 24). Botnet malware: What it is and how to fight it.
Retrieved from https://www.welivesecurity.com/2014/10/22/botnet-malware-fight/What Is A Botnet & How Does It Work? (2018, February 27). Retrieved from https://www.pwnieexpress.com/blog/iot-botnets-ddos-attacks/
