Category: botnets

Auto Added by WPeMatico

A Security Vulnerability in the KmsdBot Botnet

Posted on By infossl
botnets, Security technology, Uncategorized, vulnerabilities

Security researchers found a software bug in the KmsdBot cryptomining botnet: With no error-checking built in, sending KmsdBot a malformed command­—like its controllers did one day while Akamai was watching­—created a panic crash with an “index out of range” error. Because there’s no persistence, the bot stays down, and malicious agents would need to reinfect … Read More “A Security Vulnerability in the KmsdBot Botnet” »

New Sophisticated Malware

Posted on By infossl
backdoors, botnets, malware, Security technology, threat models, Uncategorized

Mandiant is reporting on a new botnet. The group, which security firm Mandiant is calling UNC3524, has spent the past 18 months burrowing into victims’ networks with unusual stealth. In cases where the group is ejected, it wastes no time reinfecting the victim environment and picking up where things left off. There are many keys … Read More “New Sophisticated Malware” »

US Disrupts Russian Botnet

Posted on By infossl
botnets, fbi, malware, national security policy, russia, Security technology, Uncategorized

The Justice Department announced the disruption of a Russian GRU-controlled botnet: The Justice Department today announced a court-authorized operation, conducted in March 2022, to disrupt a two-tiered global botnet of thousands of infected network hardware devices under the control of a threat actor known to security researchers as Sandworm, which the U.S. government has previously … Read More “US Disrupts Russian Botnet” »

Google Shuts Down Glupteba Botnet, Sues Operators

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, blockchain, botnets, cybersecurity, google, Security technology, Uncategorized

Google took steps to shut down the Glupteba botnet, at least for now. (The botnet uses the bitcoin blockchain as a backup command-and-control mechanism, making it hard to get rid of it permanently.) So Google is also suing the botnet’s operators. It’s an interesting strategy. Let’s see if it’s successful. Powered by WPeMatico

Illegal Content and the Blockchain

Posted on By infossl
bitcoin, blockchain, botnets, censorship, cryptocurrency, economics of security, essays, Security technology, tor, Uncategorized

Security researchers have recently discovered a botnet with a novel defense against takedowns. Normally, authorities can disable a botnet by taking over its command-and-control server. With nowhere to go for instructions, the botnet is rendered useless. But over the years, botnet designers have come up with ways to make this counterattack harder. Now the content-delivery … Read More “Illegal Content and the Blockchain” »

Half a Million IoT Device Passwords Published

Posted on By infossl
botnets, internetofthings, leaks, passwords, Security technology

It’s a list of easy-to-guess passwords for IoT devices on the Internet as recently as last October and November. Useful for anyone putting together a bot network: A hacker has published this week a massive list of Telnet credentials for more than 515,000 servers, home routers, and IoT (Internet of Things) “smart” devices. The list, … Read More “Half a Million IoT Device Passwords Published” »

Artificial Personas and Public Discourse

Posted on By infossl
algorithms, artificialintelligence, botnets, deepfake, disinformation, essays, propaganda, Security technology, socialengineering, socialmedia, voting

Presidential campaign season is officially, officially, upon us now, which means it’s time to confront the weird and insidious ways in which technology is warping politics. One of the biggest threats on the horizon: artificial personas are coming, and they’re poised to take over political debate. The risk arises from two separate threads coming together: … Read More “Artificial Personas and Public Discourse” »

Japanese Government Will Hack Citizens’ IoT Devices

Posted on By infossl
backdoors, botnets, exploits, firmware, hacking, internetofthings, japan, passwords, Security technology, vulnerabilities

The Japanese government is going to run penetration tests against all the IoT devices in their country, in an effort to (1) figure out what’s insecure, and (2) help consumers secure them: The survey is scheduled to kick off next month, when authorities plan to test the password security of over 200 million IoT devices, … Read More “Japanese Government Will Hack Citizens’ IoT Devices” »

Android Ad-Fraud Scheme

Posted on By infossl
adware, android, behavioraldetection, botnets, fraud, google, Security technology

BuzzFeed is reporting on a scheme where fraudsters buy legitimate Android apps, track users’ behavior in order to mimic it in a way that evades bot detectors, and then uses bots to perpetuate an ad-fraud scheme. After being provided with a list of the apps and websites connected to the scheme, Google investigated and found … Read More “Android Ad-Fraud Scheme” »

Using Hacked IoT Devices to Disrupt the Power Grid

Posted on By infossl
academicpapers, botnets, hacking, infrastructure, internetofthings, Security technology, vulnerabilities

This is really interesting research: “BlackIoT: IoT Botnet of High Wattage Devices Can Disrupt the Power Grid“: Abstract: We demonstrate that an Internet of Things (IoT) botnet of high wattage devices — such as air conditioners and heaters — gives a unique ability to adversaries to launch large-scale coordinated attacks on the power grid. In … Read More “Using Hacked IoT Devices to Disrupt the Power Grid” »