What is a Botnet (IoT Botnet)?
Botnet, short for “Robot Network”
A botnet is a collection of internet-connected devices (Internet of Things (IoT) devices) that move data over a network without requiring human interaction. While botnets can be harmless, they’re normally used to cause great harm as bot herders remotely control them to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks (DDoS attacks), perform data exfiltration, send spam, and access the devices and their connections.
Botnets spread as the infected devices–everything from internet-connected toilets to devices that monitor commercial refrigeration temperatures–look for other internet devices with vulnerabilities that can be exploited. Once infected, the botnet calls home for commands, which include asking the zombie network to find similar devices to infect and as it grows, the bot herder can launch attacks.
A10 Networks Mitigates Attacks Caused by Botnets/IoT Botnets
The A10 Networks Thunder® Threat Protection System (TPS®) delivers an intelligent DDoS protection solution that mitigates a vast variety of DDoS attacks. With the IoT-based DDoS attacks growing, our DDoS protection solution ensures continued availability of services in demanding times.
Botnet/IoT Botnet Articles of Interest
- When the Internet of Things (IoT) is Armed as an IoT Botnet
- Should You Fear the Reaper Botnet?
- Protecting Against WireX Botnet DDoS Attacks
- Inside the Mirai Malware That Powers IoT Botnets
- Secure your Online Sales from Cybersecurity Threats during the Holiday Season
- Load Balancing Goes to School to Learn Application Availability
- Defeat Emotet Malware with SSL Interception – No Mask Needed
Investigating Mirai
It starts with Mirai. It’s a new and clever malware that takes advantage of lax security standards in connected smart devices – also known as the Internet of Things (IoT) – to build massive botnets that are able to deploy DDoS payloads that surpass 1 Tbps throughputs.
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