Network of Zombie Computers Expanding & Attacks Multiplying

According to new security reports released by security research organization Shadowserver Foundation, it is expected that about 300,000 zombie computers are now operating all over the world, with more such PCs are being added everyday.

To define 'zombies', they are PCs that hackers have taken over and using them to dispatch spam, or to corrupt other systems with viruses, adware and other malware. When an army of such zombie computers is established, the whole unit is called a 'botnet' that is also growing in sophistication and popularity. Botnets are also the devices that spammers and hackers commonly use to disseminate malicious content.

According to a comment given by Nicholas Ianelli, Analyst at the CERT Coordination Center, botnets pose considerable risk, as they are the Swiss Army knives of malware. The CERT Coordination Center studies internet security under the Software Engineering Institute of Carnegie Mellon University, as reported by Bloomberg on October 16, 2008. Ianelli further added that these botnets could do many things using just one compromised system.

Meanwhile, according to another security report from Shadowserver released on August 26, 2008, the Foundation spotted over 157,000 botnet attacks against Websites in 105 countries in 2008. In February 2008, Shadowserver claimed that it unveiled an attack waged against 32 gambling sites, with PartyGaming Plc running one of them. PartyGaming Plc is the proprietor of the PartyPoker.com Website.

Moreover, adding to Shadowserver Foundation's statistics, security software provider Symantec reported that an average number of live bots rose 17% to 61,940 from the early half of 2007 to the later half.

Furthermore, Arbor Networks Inc., which works with Shadowserver Foundation, detected over 1,800 live botnets each day in September 2008, an increase of 20% from the preceding year (2007), according to Jose Nazario, Senior Security Researcher at Arbor Networks, as reported by Bloomberg on October 16, 2008.

In addition to the above growth statistics related to botnets, in 2007, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation conducted a probe into botnets, named Operation Bot Roast, which detected more than 1m infected PCs and over $20 Million in lost money from crimes pertaining to botnets.

Related article: Notorious Russian ISP RBN Hacked Bank of India Website

» SPAMfighter News - 24-10-2008

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