Anyone working with tech or even business owners needs to know how botnet attacks work, what harm they do, and how to stop them to guard your company’s network and data safety.
To make it easier for you, we’ll cover what you need to know about botnet attacks in this article to make your life a whole lot easier.
What Are Botnet Attacks?
A botnet is a group of malware-infected devices that hackers can take control of remotely. "Botnet" is a term that combines the terms "robot" and "network." Often referred to as bots or zombies, these machines are mostly used to do illegal or harmful activity on the attacker's behalf.
Botnet attacks happen when a hacker uses a group of hacked devices to do illegal acts or launch planned attacks. This is often done without the owners' knowing.
Thousands or even millions of devices can make a botnet. Some examples of these devices are PCs, smartphones, smart TVs, home routers, and even Internet of Things (IoT) devices like security cameras and smart thermostats.
How do devices become part of a botnet?
Devices often become part of a botnet through malware attacks. Software bugs, fraudulent downloads, and phishing emails are popular ways for this infection to spread.
Infected devices join the botnet and follow instructions from the botnet's attacker-controlled command-and-control (C&C) server.
What Are the Different Types of Botnet Attacks?
1. Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) Attacks
One of the most popular uses of botnets is to initiate Distributed Denial-of-Service (DDoS) attacks. When a botnet floods a target server, network, or website with traffic, it's known as a DDoS assault.
With so many requests, the target can crash or stop working. DDoS attacks can cause major downtime and money loss. This can be very risky for businesses that give online services, such as e-commerce sites or online banking systems.
Attackers often use DDoS attacks to take down services or as a way to get money. Hackers typically ask for cash to stop the attack.
2. Spam and Phishing Campaigns
Botnets are often used to send out a lot of spam emails. These types of emails could ask for personal information or even unsafe attachments or links.
Phishing emails are meant to trick people into giving personal info like credit card details or login passwords. These emails are often sent by botnets. Spam botnets are a good tool for hackers who need to reach a lot of people fast. These can send out millions of emails at the same time.
This can also lead to email servers being overloaded. This overload can delay real messages and waste business resources.
3. Credential Stuffing
Another type of botnet attack involves credential stuffing. Hackers try to break into accounts by guessing different usernames and passwords.
They often get these login details from old data breaches. Many people use the same password on different sites, so botnets can quickly test these across many websites or services.
If the botnet gets into an account, the hacker can steal personal data, money, or even get into company networks. This can cause data breaches and identity theft. But IAM or CIAM frameworks can be set to trigger IP throttling or block devices after a specific number of attempts.
4. Click Fraud
Click fraud is another way hackers use botnets. In this attack, the botnet clicks on online ads to make money for the attacker or waste the money of advertisers.
Botnets can click on ads using many devices, making it hard for ad networks to spot the fake clicks.
This hurts businesses that pay for online ads because they lose money without getting anything back in return.
5. Data Theft and Espionage
Botnets are also used to steal data and spy on people. They infect devices with malware that collects things like passwords, customer data, and private information.
This stolen data can be sold on the dark web or used for more attacks.
Botnets used for spying often go after certain businesses or industries, which makes them a big danger to companies that deal with sensitive data.
What Damage Do Botnet Attacks Cause?
The damage caused by botnet attacks can be far-reaching, affecting businesses, individuals, and even critical infrastructure. Here are some of the key ways botnet attacks cause harm:
1. Financial Loss
One of the most clear effects of botnet attacks is the loss of money. Businesses hit by DDoS attacks can lose cash because their websites go down.
Those hit by click fraud may waste their ad budgets on fake clicks.
In some cases, attackers may ask for a ransom to stop the attacks. This can make the loss of money even worse.
For people, botnets can cause loss of money through theft of their identity and fake buys. When botnets steal personal info, it can be used to make buys without permission, drain bank accounts, or take out loans in the victim's name.
2. Loss of Trust and Reputation
Botnet attacks can harm a company’s name. If a business has a data breach or a long service outage from a botnet, customers might stop trusting the company to guard their data or give good service.
This loss of trust can make customers less loyal. It can also bring bad news from the media and cause long-term harm to the company’s image.
For fields like finance and healthcare, where safety is very key, the effect of botnet attacks on trust can be worse.
3. Data Breaches
As stated before, botnets are often used to steal important information, which leads to data breaches.
When attackers get access to customer data, trade secrets, or other private info, businesses may face lawsuits, fines, and harm to their public image.
Along with money loss, data breaches can cause breaks in work as companies rush to fix the breach. They must inform those affected and put in place safety measures to stop future attacks.
4. Operational Disruptions
Botnet attacks can greatly disrupt work. For example, a DDoS attack could shut down key websites, apps, or systems. This can cause lost work and downtime.
Also, malware spread by a botnet can infect many devices. This affects business work and needs time and resources to fix. Even short outages can hurt income and customer satisfaction in fields where uptime is key, like phone service, online stores, and banks
Practices to Prevent and Respond to Botnet Attacks
Stopping botnet attacks needs a smart plan that includes locking down devices, watching networks, and acting fast at any signs of infection. We’ve listed some ways that businesses and people can guard against botnet attacks:
1. Use Strong Network Security
The first step in stopping botnet attacks is to make sure there is strong network security. This means using firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to watch for and block strange traffic.
Businesses should also divide their networks into smaller parts. This can help stop the spread of infections if one part of the network is hacked.
Also, using encryption for sensitive data is key. Keeping devices and software updated with the latest security patches can help stop malware infections that lead to botnet problems.
2. Use Strong Authentication
Another key defense against botnet attacks is using strong authentication methods, such as multi-factor authentication (MFA).
MFA asks users to give two or more forms of proof to log into their accounts. This makes it harder for attackers to get in without permission, even if they have stolen login information.
For businesses, using MFA on key systems, such as employee logins, customer accounts, and cloud services, adds another layer of safety. This can help stop botnet-driven credential-stuffing attacks.
3. Educate Employees and Users
Human error is one of the main causes of botnet infections. For this reason, it is key to teach workers and users about the risks of phishing, odd emails, and unsafe downloads.
People you work with should learn to spot the signs of phishing and how to report strange acts to the IT or security teams.
Helping people know about threats can lower the chance of users unknowingly downloading malware. This malware could turn their devices into part of a botnet.
4. Monitor Network Traffic for Strange Activity
Botnets depend on how infected devices talk to the command and control (C&C) server. By checking network traffic for odd patterns or strange actions, businesses can find botnet activity before it gets worse.
For example, a sudden rise in outgoing traffic or strange links to unknown IPs could mean a botnet DDoS attack or a plan to steal data.
Many security tools, like Security Info and Event Management (SIEM) systems, use AI and machine learning to find these odd patterns as they happen. This helps give early warnings about botnet activity.
5. Respond Quickly to Attacks
Botnet attacks can still affect devices, even with strong security. When this happens, having a good plan to respond is very important.
This plan should include steps like finding and removing infected devices, getting rid of the malware, and making sure systems are safe again.
Businesses should also work to improve their security to stop future attacks. They must tell any customers or employees who might have been affected.
Prevent BotNet Attacks With Infisign
Companies trying to safeguard their networks and data have to know the many kinds of botnet assaults, the harm they may do, and the best ways to avoid and respond to them.
You may lessen their vulnerability to these advanced assaults by implementing robust security measures and keeping an eye out for indications of botnet activity. Still, MFA and zero-proof authentication, which are possible via the CIAM and IAM frameworks, greatly reduce this risk. This way, you speed up your processes and make sure there’s watertight security throught your company. Want to know more? Why not reach out to the team at Inifisign to make bot attacks a threat of the past.
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