The risks associated with botnets are exactly the same as the risks
associated with malicious software in general. The risks are varied; one
can have sensitive information stolen from the electronic device, such
as intellectual property, blueprints, or passwords giving access to
sensitive resources (for example online games). Infected computers can
also be used to overload servers or send spam.
It is important to understand that once a computer is infected, it really doesn’t belong to its owner anymore; it is operated and used by someone who can be on the other end side of the globe, potentially conducting all kinds of illegal activities.
Who is more endangered by botnets – businesses or home users?
The line between corporate and personal devices and networks is very blurry. We all bring personal devices to work and vice-versa. I would say that botnets are a threat to both types of users. Usually, corporate networks have stricter security and monitoring; identifying and stopping botnet attacks should be easier in these types of networks. On the other hand, there is more sensitive data to be stolen from corporate
Is there any specific type or group of users that is more vulnerable than the rest?
Not really, there are various types of malware, each of which may be used to target a different group of users.
Historically, what are the best known botnets, the biggest and the worst?
Conficker is probably the botnet that has received the most attention and it is certainly one of the biggest in history, with millions of hosts infected very quickly. This attracted attention from the research community which quickly organized a task force to fight it. As a result, the botnet was never used by its operators. Other significant botnets include Storm which was mainly used to send spam and TDSS (also called Alureon) which had a rootkit component that proved to be hard to clean.
It is important to understand that once a computer is infected, it really doesn’t belong to its owner anymore; it is operated and used by someone who can be on the other end side of the globe, potentially conducting all kinds of illegal activities.
Who is more endangered by botnets – businesses or home users?
The line between corporate and personal devices and networks is very blurry. We all bring personal devices to work and vice-versa. I would say that botnets are a threat to both types of users. Usually, corporate networks have stricter security and monitoring; identifying and stopping botnet attacks should be easier in these types of networks. On the other hand, there is more sensitive data to be stolen from corporate
Is there any specific type or group of users that is more vulnerable than the rest?
Not really, there are various types of malware, each of which may be used to target a different group of users.
Historically, what are the best known botnets, the biggest and the worst?
Conficker is probably the botnet that has received the most attention and it is certainly one of the biggest in history, with millions of hosts infected very quickly. This attracted attention from the research community which quickly organized a task force to fight it. As a result, the botnet was never used by its operators. Other significant botnets include Storm which was mainly used to send spam and TDSS (also called Alureon) which had a rootkit component that proved to be hard to clean.
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