Botnet | the Net economy

How a botnet works: 1. A botnet operator sends out viruses or worms, infecting ordinary users’ computers, whose payload is a malicious application — the bot. 2. The bot on the infected PC logs into a particular command and control (C&C) server (often an IRC server, but, in some cases a web server). 3. A spammer purchases access to the botnet from the operator. 4. The spammer sends instructions via the IRC server to the infected PCs, causing them to send out spam messages to mail servers. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

By Joe Stanganelli – Recent headlines have been rife with examples of security backdoors allowing hackers to take control of all manner of smart devices, including televisions, baby monitors, pacemakers, and cars.

IoT vulnerabilities transcend the consumer market, however, and the enterprise should be concerned. Industrial control systems increasingly deploy IoT technology. Many companies are already operating from energy-efficient smart buildings managed by city-wide smart grids and furbished with smart thermostats, smart lighting systems, smart emergency alarms, and smart whatever-else-you-can-think-of. more> http://tinyurl.com/oop9wzw

Related>

A bad idea ↑
Internet of Things, Botnet edition, Derek C. Slater, fierceenterprisecommunications.com

Today’s Scuttlebot: The Botnet of Things, and Google’s Possible Floating Glass Store (bits.blogs.nytimes.com)
Massive Number Websites in Botnet (graphiclineweb.wordpress.com)
What is a botnet? (security-audit.com)
ZeroAccess: Sinkhole Sucks Brains From Big Bitcoin Mining Botnet (techweekeurope.co.uk)
Hackers use botnet to scrape Google for vulnerable sites (infoworld.com)
Hackers use botnet to scrape Google for vulnerable sites (infoworld.com)
Zombies – Coming Soon To a Computer Near You (sitelock.com)
Large Scale Botnet Brute Force Password Cracking Against WordPress Sites (linuxsecurity.com)

By Roger A. Grimes – Years ago the typical hacking scenario involved a lone attacker and maybe some buddies working late at night on Mountain Dew, looking for public-facing IP addresses. When they found one, they enumerated the advertising services (Web server, SQL server, and so on), broke in using a multitude of vulnerabilities, then explored the compromised company to their heart’s content. Often their intent was exploratory. If they did something illegal, it was typically a spur-of-the-moment crime of opportunity.

My, how times have changed. Here are the nine biggest threats facing today’s IT:

Cyber crime syndicates
Small-time cons — and the money mules and launders supporting them
Hacktivists
Intellectual property theft and corporate espionage
Malware mercenaries
Botnets as a service
All-in-one malware
The increasingly compromised Web
Cyber warfare

The worst part is that almost none of those who use the above malicious attacks are successfully prosecuted. The professional criminals on the Internet are living large because the Internet isn’t good at producing court-actionable evidence. Right now we live in the “wild, wild West” days of the Internet. more> http://tinyurl.com/9hvghuh