Traditional botnets that use the C&C method have a critical weakness: If their C&C server is knocked offline the botnet ceases to function. Note that this doesn't mean botnet malware won't be used to harvest personal identifying information (PII) about the owners of hijacked machines: It's entirely capable of stealing credentials, banking information, and other personal details. Modern malicious botnets, on the other hand, are typically operated for nefarious purposes, and computers become nodes not by installing a program, but by being hijacked directly by hackers or through the installation of malware.īotnets use a lot of different protocols to communicate: IRC, HTTP, Telnet, ToR, and even social media sites can be used to issue commands and evade detection.Īt their most basic, botnets aren't that different from any other malware that takes orders from a command and control (C&C) server, except in this case botnet malware is less concerned with the info it can harvest from a particular computer, and more with the computing resources it can extract from an infected machine. IRC used servers and other computers to relay chat from sender to recipient, with each computer in the network acting to relay data. One of the first uses of a botnet was to operate internet relay chat (IRC), a completely legitimate use of connected computers. If that definition seems ambiguous, it's because it is: Botnets aren't malicious by definition. The definition of botnet is simple: A bunch of computers acting together to accomplish a shared task. SEE: Identity theft protection policy (TechRepublic Premium) What is a botnet? (Download the free PDF version of this article: Cheat sheet: Botnets.) It's essential to act fast, though: Beyond giving an attacker access to personal info on the device, botnet nodes can be worked to the point of physical damage due to overheating, leaving their owners stuck with the bill for repair or replacement. That doesn't mean there aren't signs that an internet-connected device has been hijacked, and botnet victims aren't beyond saving.

We often assume that our personal devices are potential victims, and not that they could be components in cyberattacks, but they can be if they become a node in a botnet.īotnets are used to do all sorts of malicious things, like launch distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks, spread malware, and mine cryptocurrency-all without the device's owner being aware that it's been hijacked. When a computer or any other device is connected to the internet, it runs a lot of risks from malware and hackers.

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