EU Agency Research Paper Addresses Botnets

ENISA or European Network and Information Security Agency has issued one research paper that discusses how botnets are spotted, evaluated and thwarted, while describing different techniques within the separate fields. Reveals the paper, threats from botnets cannot be measured on the basis of their sizes. The H Security published this in news on March 10, 2011.

Meanwhile, as commonly known, botnets are armies of hijacked PCs joined in a network their creators control from a remote location. Hitherto, they've been primarily used for disseminating spam mails, synchronizing DDoS (distributed denial-of-service) assaults, and carrying out automatic ID-thefts of banking or credit card information to commit financial fraud.

Normally, investigators on Internet security calculate a botnet's size and capability for explaining the large number of compromised PCs on it set to execute malevolent assaults whenever their controllers want. But, these estimates aren't exact, as they can be exaggerated, states the paper.

Also as per the paper, there's an over USD10bn estimated for the aggregate yearly loss of the world economy because of malevolent software operations. Additional developments indicate how botnets are significant so far as danger to nation-wide safety is concerned like it has been with the botnet related assaults on Estonia during 2007, on Georgia during 2008 and Iran during 2009.

Furthermore, the paper says that the probabilities associated with getting financial support are greatly related to the danger rate of the massively-sized botnets. Consequently, organizations tend to canvass an inflated size, stated editor of the paper Giles Hogben. EWeek.com published this in news on March 10, 2011.

Nevertheless, the paper as well stresses that there's requirement for the governments of countries, legislative institutions and security research groups to directly co-operate. Here information exchange processes in a standardized manner have a vital role to play, the paper highlights.

Conclusively, ENISA in its paper delineates a few recommendations for blocking botnets. These are, more public awareness about best security practices and enhancement of system safeguard and vulnerability management both by those who develop software and manufacture devices, and those who utilize these products so that fresh malware and their associated botnets can be mitigated.

Related article: E-Crime Reporting Format To Be Launched in July

» SPAMfighter News - 3/22/2011