In a recent study researchers found that small botnets are causing big problems for enterprise networks.
Most botnets are doing more with less
The study tracked more than 600 botnets over a 3 month period. Most of the botnets studied, 57%, were comprised of 100 or fewer nodes. 21% of the botnets had 101 – 500 nodes. 17% of the botnets had between 500 – 10,000 nodes. Only 5% of the botnets had more than 10,000 nodes. Whenever we think of botnets we usually envision thousands of slave PCs being used for nefarious purposes. These smaller botnets are more specific in their targets and are not causing large network disruptions. They are harder to detect as a result. This study sheds new light on the botnet issue.
“Do-it-yourself” botnet kits are readily available
Many of these smaller botnets use tools from DIY kits that can be purchased or downloaded for free from various malware distribution sites. The ability to build tools to lurk on networks provides the hacker with tailored application to specifically target the items and information they want to access. Many of the tools that are being used to craft these specific applications even have backdoors that were created by the original developer. So now you have the hacker that created the custom application gathering information about the network as well as the creator of the original tools used to develop this custom application all collecting information about the enterprise network. Dangerous and scary!
Stop the botnets from attacking
Mailprotector’s services help to protect your email systems from botnets. We keep rogues from sending you unwanted spam and malware to your users. We also protect your email systems from sending spam or malware from within by users or rogue accounts. We’ll even provide you with a free 30 day trial so you can experience botnet-free messaging. Check out our services online or feel free to contact us to learn more.
You can read more details about this study at http://www.eweek.com/c/a/Security/Small-Botnets-Causing-Big-Security-Problems-for-Enterprises-275556/
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