Botnets

In short: A botnet is a network of many infected devices that an attacker controls centrally.

In more detail: The individual devices are called bots or “zombies”. The operator (botmaster) controls them via a C2 server or a peer-to-peer network.

In Depth

Use

DDoS attacks, spam, credential stuffing, click fraud, mining. Botnet capacity is also rented out.

Examples

Mirai (2016): infected poorly secured IoT devices (cameras, routers) and knocked large parts of the internet offline. Emotet: was dismantled by international investigators in January 2021.

Protection

Change default passwords, firmware updates, do not expose devices to the internet unnecessarily. See remote control, DDoS.

See also: Remote Control (by Attackers), DDoS, Resource Abuse