Think of the damage that a hacker can do. Right from, breaking into people’s accounts, spreading fake websites, sending out dangerous spam to tricking people into handing out personal information, infecting millions with malware, and even denying access to the internet.
Now imagine what a hacker can do with an army of computers at their disposal, strengthening his resources on an order of thousands and millions. This army of computers actually exists, and these are called “Botnets”.
What is Botnet?
Basically, a botnet is a network of infected computers which, under the command of a single master computer, work together to accomplish a goal. It may seem simple, but it is the powerhouse behind some of the worst attacks’ hackers can attempt.
A botnet includes groups of computers that have been infected with malware. A hacker remotely controls all of the computers in the group to do things like sending spam messages, generating fake web traffic, conducting DDoS attacks, serving ads to everyone in the botnet, or even forces payment from users to be removed from the botnet.
A botnet relies on two things:
First, it needs a large network of infected devices, called “zombies”, to do the grunt work for whatever scheme the hacker has planned.
Second, it needs someone to actually command them to do something, which is called the Command and Control center, or “bot herder”.
Once these things are in place, a botnet is ready to bring chaos and do harm to people and systems.
How do Botnets work?
There are two primary ways that botnets are set up, the Client-Server model and the Peer-to-Peer model.
In both cases, the Command and Control owner can command and control the network. This is the reason why they use digital signatures to ensure that only commands issued by the hacker or whoever he sold the botnet to are spread through the entire network.
5 ways to stop Botnets from stealing Data
Botnet attacks are generally combined with other cyber threats, which makes its detection challenging. However, eliminating botnet threats can help businesses to stay protected from such attacks.
Botnets are difficult to stop once they have taken control of user’s devices. So, to reduce phishing attacks and other issues, make sure each of your devices is guarded well against this malicious hijack. Neumetric, a cybersecurity services, consulting & products Organisation, can help you reduce your security cost without compromising your security posture. Our years of in-depth experience in handling security for Organisations of all sizes & in multiple industries make it easier for us to quickly execute cost-cutting activities that do not bring value to you, while you continue focusing on the Business objectives of the Organisation.