Microsoft’s Recent Botnet Shutdowns Prompt Criticism

Security experts from The Netherlands lately severely blamed the never-like-before persistent legal method for shutting down botnets by Microsoft through an accusation that the company's latest ZeuS botnet dismemberment initiative called Operation B71 had eventually harmed private research and global law enforcement investigations. Darkreading.com published this in news on April 12, 2012.

Principal Security Expert Michael Sandee at Fox-IT a Netherlands-based security company blogged that in brief the situation was one where Microsoft had openly declared the shutdowns of SpyEye, Ice-IX and ZeuS network-of-bots, while had indexed numerous domain names that apparently were involved as well as tried capturing them all. There hadn't been a verification of the said total number of domains and some of them included those that were genuine, Sandee added and blog.fox-it.com reported this dated April 12, 2012.

Further, during the declaration, Microsoft had admitted that the shutdown initiative wouldn't prevent ZeuS from doing its activities and that its purpose involved in rather than terminating every ZeuS botnet, to destabilize only that portion of the botnet which was being considered.

But according to Sandee, Microsoft's careless action can be said to have damaged numerous global investigations within USA as well as Asian and European countries, which Fox-IT assisted. The damage also spread onto worldwide associations among private and public parties. Additionally, private-public co-operation is also getting hampered potentially prompting little sharing in future alternatively certainly causing a fall in its value compared to what was earlier witnessed with all parties in the game, the expert analyzes. Vrritti.com published this on April 14, 2012.

A senior advocate Richard Boscovich on behalf of the Digital Crimes Unit of Microsoft stated that Fox-IT's explanation was partially based on a few misinterpretations of the facts regarding the initiative that Microsoft was ready for taking up in a debate with Fix-IT. Darkreading.com reported this on April 12, 2012.

Boscovich further stated that he could unambiguously state that all the legally documented information in the case was based on Microsoft's original studies along with details that intermediate researchers and associates provided having taken their forthright consent as well as desire for inclusion.

Related article: Microsoft Patches Live OneCare to Tackle Quarantined E-Mails

» SPAMfighter News - 4/24/2012