Researchers Don’t Consider Waledac Take-down Much Significant

Giving its judgment on the lawsuit filed by Microsoft, a court in Virginia ordered VeriSign Inc. to shut down 277 domain names as well as associated sites controlled by Waledac botnet. The botnet was reported to control 30,000 to 90,000 computers, with a capacity to send 1.5 Billion spam per day.

However, some experts believe that it is a momentary victory as there are several other malicious networks to substitute Waledac. Speaking in this regard, Amichai Shulman, chief technology officer, Imperva, said that the problem is not going to end with this, reported NEWS - IN - TECH on March 1, 2010.

Announcing their legal victory, software giant Microsoft said that they will take every possible action to protect their brand and customers. The company hoped that this victory will boost similar actions. Microsoft claimed their victory a big one as the problem caused by Waledac was worldwide.

However, security experts look hardly convinced that the Microsoft's victory has proved detrimental for the global spam level on a large scale. Shulman suspected that other criminal gangs will shortly come up to fill the void while those behind Waledac reassemble and get back to business.

Commenting on the issue, Joe Stewart, director of malware analysis with SecureWorks and a well-known botnet researcher, said that Waledac botnet alone is not a highly productive spam generator, so its shutdown is not going to make much difference to spam volume, as per the news published by TechWorld on February 26, 2010.

Google's Postini also noted that no decline in spam levels has been detected by it. Spokesman for Google, Jay Nancarrow, stated that their team has so far observed no change, reported TechWorld on February 26, 2010.

Further, Stewart said that the guys behind Waledac are not rookies. It was created and controlled by hackers who had earlier masterminded the nasty Storm bot Trojan. So these people must certainly be aware of the ins and outs of this game.

Thus, in all possibilities, Microsoft's effort appears too little to stop a well-settled botnet like Waledac.

Related article: Researchers Urge Caution against phishing Scams

» SPAMfighter News - 3/9/2010