The how and why of botnets

Posted by kent on July 24th, 2009

Internet security software provider Kaspersky has released a report on the methods and effectiveness of botnets. They've outlined their findings here. A botnet is a group of zombie computers, machines that have been infected by a virus that gives the botnet owner a virtual remote control for said computer. These zombie computers work in concert: sending out spam emails, harvesting personal information, launching denial of service attacks and other malicious activities.

And it's big bucks for those in the botnet business. Here are some figures from the report:

A botnet created by a 19-year-old hacker was sold for $36,000.

Botnet owners who utilized zombie computers for "click fraud" in 2008 made $33 million.

A group of Brazilian cybercriminals harvested $4.74 million from bank accounts accessed through zombie computers.

Personal information on a US citizen can sell for $5 to $8, but an EU citizen's data is worth 2-3 times as much (an EU citizen's data can be used in more countries).

The report concludes that law enforcement, consumers, and providers of anti-virus software need to work together more closely to put a halt to the botnet problem. Protecting your PC from attack is crucial in keeping your machine from becoming a zombie in a botnet.

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