Security Experts: Massive Botnet Forming. A 'Botnet Storm' Coming

Online security experts have detected a massive botnet -- a network of zombie robots -- forming. Its operator and purpose are both unknown. Check Point Software Technologies, a cyber security firm, warned in a blog post that its researchers:

"... had discovered of a brand new Botnet evolving and recruiting IoT devices at a far greater pace and with more potential damage than the Mirai botnet of 2016... Ominous signs were first picked up via Check Point’s Intrusion Prevention System (IPS) in the last few days of September. An increasing number of attempts were being made by hackers to exploit a combination of vulnerabilities found in various IoT devices.

With each passing day the malware was evolving to exploit an increasing number of vulnerabilities in Wireless IP Camera devices such as GoAhead, D-Link, TP-Link, AVTECH, NETGEAR, MikroTik, Linksys, Synology and others..."

Reportedly, the botnet has been named either "Reaper" or "IoTroop." The McClatchy news wire reported:

"A Chinese cybersecurity firm, Qihoo 360, says the botnet is swelling by 10,000 devices a day..."

Criminals use malware or computer viruses to add to the botnet weakly protected or insecure Internet-connect devices (commonly referred to as the internet of things, or IoT) in homes and businesses. Then, criminals use botnets to overwhelm a targeted website with page requests. This type of attack, called a Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS), prevents valid users from accessing the targeted site; knocking the site offline. If the attack is large enough, it can disable large portions of the Internet.

A version of the attack could also include a ransom demand, where the criminals will stop the attack only after a large cash payment by the targeted company or website. With multiple sites targeted, either version of cyber attack could have huge, negative impacts upon businesses and users.

How bad was the Mirai botnet? According to the US-CERT unit within the U.S. Department of Homeland Security:

"On September 20, 2016, Brian Krebs’ security blog was targeted by a massive DDoS attack, one of the largest on record... The Mirai malware continuously scans the Internet for vulnerable IoT devices, which are then infected and used in botnet attacks. The Mirai bot uses a short list of 62 common default usernames and passwords to scan for vulnerable devices... The purported Mirai author claimed that over 380,000 IoT devices were enslaved by the Mirai malware in the attack..."

Wired reported last year that after the attack on Krebs' blog, the Mirai botnet:

"... managed to make much of the internet unavailable for millions of people by overwhelming Dyn, a company that provides a significant portion of the US internet's backbone... Mirai disrupted internet service for more than 900,000 Deutsche Telekom customers in Germany, and infected almost 2,400 TalkTalk routers in the UK. This week, researchers published evidence that 80 models of Sony cameras are vulnerable to a Mirai takeover..."

The Wired report also explained the difficulty with identifying and cleaning infected devices:

"One reason Mirai is so difficult to contain is that it lurks on devices, and generally doesn't noticeably affect their performance. There's no reason the average user would ever think that their webcam—or more likely, a small business's—is potentially part of an active botnet. And even if it were, there's not much they could do about it, having no direct way to interface with the infected product."

It this seems scary, it is. The coming botnet storm has the potential to do lots of damage.

So, a word to the wise. Experts advise consumers to, a) disconnect the device from your network and reboot it before re-connecting it to the internet, b) buy internet-connected devices that support security software updates, c) change the passwords on your devices from the defaults to strong passwords, d) update the operating system (OS) software on your devices with security patches as soon as they are available, e) keep the anti-virus software on your devices current, and f) regularly backup the data on your devices.

US-CERT also advised consumers to:

"Disable Universal Plug and Play (UPnP) on routers unless absolutely necessary. Purchase IoT devices from companies with a reputation for providing secure devices... Understand the capabilities of any medical devices intended for at-home use. If the device transmits data or can be operated remotely, it has the potential to be infected."