A Botnet Attack Can Ruin Your Day

One of the worst hacks that can hit your computer is called a botnet attack. If a hacker is successful with it, then they can literally take control of your PC. Once your PC is compromised by a botnet attack, it's safe to say that your day is ruined.

A botnet itself isn't the name of the virus that takes control of your PC; rather, a botnet is the name of the network of various compromised computers controlled by a single hacker. A hacker will use the Internet to take control and send commands over their botnet network, which means that any device connected to the Internet is susceptible to becoming part of a hacker's botnet network.

Botnet and "the Internet of Things"
Look for botnet attacks to become even more prevalent as the tech trend "the Internet of things" skyrockets in popularity. This trend refers to a high volume of new "things" being connected to the Internet. This includes things like kitchen appliances, cars, heating and cooling systems, televisions, simple devices used to gather data, and much more. In fact, so many new things are being connected to the Internet, that the IDC projects the Internet will be made up of 212 billion devices by the end of 2020.

Any device that uses the Internet to send data and receive commands has potential to be hacked. Botnet attacks are extra dangerous because the attacks don't discriminate between the devices. Many times, a hacker will send their device-controlling virus all over the World Wide Web and end up with a botnet network that spans the globe and is made up of a variety of PC makes and models, and even different "Internet of things" gadgets.

Botnet and Zombies
Because a hacker's botnet network is often characterized by different technologies, botnet networks are associated with zombies. Think for a moment about a zombie hoard. They're made up of zombies of all shapes and sizes. Some zombies are missing body parts, some crawl, some zombies are fresh and can move fast; you get the idea. In the same way, a botnet network will be cobbled together with different computers, devices, and even appliances.

Just like a zombie hoard can be dangerous when all the zombies are working together to achieve a common goal (like breaking through a door), a botnet network can be a dangerous weapon when a hacker mobilizes all the devices they control. This is a hacking tactic known as a distributed denial of service attack (DDoS), and it allows a hacker to do something malicious using the computers they control. The activity is traced back to the owner of the compromised computer, not the hacker.

Stopping the Botnet
Is your computer a part of a hacker's malicious botnet network? Good antivirus software can scan specifically for botnet code and disable it, but sometimes even this isn't enough. Sometimes a botnet code will embed itself on a computer and then lay dormant, waiting to receive the command to activate and do the will of its hacker master. A dormant virus like this won't display any signs and you will be oblivious to the fact that your computer can become a zombie by a single keystroke of a remote hacker via the Internet.

The surest way to remove your computer from a botnet is to sever the body from the head. This is as simple as disconnecting your device from the Internet. This will relinquish control of your device from the hacker, but it won't eliminate the botnet code from your computer. If you don't take care of the botnet code, then when you go to reconnect your compromised device to the Internet, even if it's with a different ISP address, the zombie-master hacker will still be able to find your device and take control of it.

Protecting your organization from botnet attacks takes strong firewall and virus protection software that's up to date. You'll also want to make sure that you've got protection for every device that's connected to the Internet. This includes devices that you wouldn't normally think are vulnerable, like Internet-connected kitchen appliances, wearable tech like smart watches and glasses, cars, and all the other new Internet-enabled "things" that are coming down the pipe.

Protect your company's technology from turning into mindless zombie robots by calling k_Street Consulting, LLC at (202) 640-2737.