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Cyberattacks often make headlines in today's digital environment. At any time, anyone who uses a computer can become a victim of a cyber attack. There are various types, from phishing to DDoS and password attacks. There are many dangers to network security on the Internet. Many of these threats are promising technologies that have been misused. In this guide, you will learn about one of these networks, namely a botnet.
What is a botnet?
A botnet is a network of hijacked Internet-connected devices that have malicious codes installed on them, known as malware. Each of the infected devices is known as bots, and a hacker / cybercriminal known as a "Shepherd Bot" remotely monitors them. A bot is also called a zombie, and a botnet is a zombie army.
The shepherd bot can direct each bot to perform coordinated illegal actions from one central location. A botnet can have multiple bots, which allows an attacker to conduct large-scale attacks. Infected devices can easily and quickly receive updates and change their behavior, because they are controlled by a remote attacker. Bots are used to automate large-scale attacks, including data theft, server failure, malware distribution, spam generation, and malicious traffic generation for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
How does a botnet work?
Training a Botnet army: The first step in creating a botnet is to infect as many connected devices as possible to ensure that there are enough bots to carry out an attack. It uses the computing power of infected devices for tasks that remain hidden from the device owners. However, the share of bandwidth taken from one machine is not enough, and therefore the botnet combines millions of devices to conduct large-scale attacks. So it creates bots by exploiting security holes in software or websites, or phishing emails.
Establishing a connection: After hacking the device in accordance with the previous step, it infects it with a specific malware program that connects the device back to the central botnet server. Thus, it connects all the devices in the botnet network, and they are ready for an attack. The shepherd bot uses command programming to control the bot's actions.
Launching an attack: Once infected, the bot provides access to operations at the administrator level, such as collecting and stealing user data, reading and writing system data, monitoring user actions, performing DDoS attacks, sending spam, launching brute-force attacks, crypto mining, etc.
The shepherd bot initiates an attack by infecting multiple devices with malicious code that acts as a botnet. In the next step, these devices take over and conduct the latest cyberattack.
Botnet architecture
The botnet architecture has evolved over time to improve performance and reduce the chances of being tracked. As noted earlier, as soon as it infects the desired number of devices, the bot master (bot pastor) takes over the management of the bots using two different approaches.
Client-server model
This is a traditional model that works with a Command and control (C&C) server and communication protocols such as IRC. For example, IRC or Internet Relay Chat sends automated commands to infected bot devices.
Before engaging in a cyberattack, it often programs bots to stay idle and wait for commands from the C&C server. When the shepherd bot issues a command to the server, it is then passed to the clients. After that, clients run commands and report the results.
P2P botnet
Here, a peer-to-peer network based on a decentralized approach is used to manage infected bots. Today, hackers use this approach to avoid detection and failure at a single point.
When using a P2P botnet, infected devices scan malicious websites or other devices. The bot carefully checks random IP addresses until it comes into contact with another infected machine. The bots then share updated commands or the latest malware versions.
Cyberattacks often make headlines in today's digital environment. At any time, anyone who uses a computer can become a victim of a cyber attack. There are various types, from phishing to DDoS and password attacks. There are many dangers to network security on the Internet. Many of these threats are promising technologies that have been misused. In this guide, you will learn about one of these networks, namely a botnet.
What is a botnet?
A botnet is a network of hijacked Internet-connected devices that have malicious codes installed on them, known as malware. Each of the infected devices is known as bots, and a hacker / cybercriminal known as a "Shepherd Bot" remotely monitors them. A bot is also called a zombie, and a botnet is a zombie army.
The shepherd bot can direct each bot to perform coordinated illegal actions from one central location. A botnet can have multiple bots, which allows an attacker to conduct large-scale attacks. Infected devices can easily and quickly receive updates and change their behavior, because they are controlled by a remote attacker. Bots are used to automate large-scale attacks, including data theft, server failure, malware distribution, spam generation, and malicious traffic generation for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
How does a botnet work?
Training a Botnet army: The first step in creating a botnet is to infect as many connected devices as possible to ensure that there are enough bots to carry out an attack. It uses the computing power of infected devices for tasks that remain hidden from the device owners. However, the share of bandwidth taken from one machine is not enough, and therefore the botnet combines millions of devices to conduct large-scale attacks. So it creates bots by exploiting security holes in software or websites, or phishing emails.
Establishing a connection: After hacking the device in accordance with the previous step, it infects it with a specific malware program that connects the device back to the central botnet server. Thus, it connects all the devices in the botnet network, and they are ready for an attack. The shepherd bot uses command programming to control the bot's actions.
Launching an attack: Once infected, the bot provides access to operations at the administrator level, such as collecting and stealing user data, reading and writing system data, monitoring user actions, performing DDoS attacks, sending spam, launching brute-force attacks, crypto mining, etc.
The shepherd bot initiates an attack by infecting multiple devices with malicious code that acts as a botnet. In the next step, these devices take over and conduct the latest cyberattack.
Botnet architecture
The botnet architecture has evolved over time to improve performance and reduce the chances of being tracked. As noted earlier, as soon as it infects the desired number of devices, the bot master (bot pastor) takes over the management of the bots using two different approaches.
Client-server model
This is a traditional model that works with a Command and control (C&C) server and communication protocols such as IRC. For example, IRC or Internet Relay Chat sends automated commands to infected bot devices.
Before engaging in a cyberattack, it often programs bots to stay idle and wait for commands from the C&C server. When the shepherd bot issues a command to the server, it is then passed to the clients. After that, clients run commands and report the results.
P2P botnet
Here, a peer-to-peer network based on a decentralized approach is used to manage infected bots. Today, hackers use this approach to avoid detection and failure at a single point.
When using a P2P botnet, infected devices scan malicious websites or other devices. The bot carefully checks random IP addresses until it comes into contact with another infected machine. The bots then share updated commands or the latest malware versions.
