Close
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
Read Down
Sign in
Close
Welcome!Log into your account
Forgot your password?
Read Down
Password recovery
Recover your password
Close
Search
Logo
Logo
  • Latest News
  • Big Data and Analytics
  • Cloud
  • Networking
  • Cybersecurity
  • Applications
  • IT Management
  • Storage
  • Sponsored
  • Mobile
  • Small Business
  • Development
  • Database
  • Servers
  • Android
  • Apple
  • Innovation
  • Blogs
  • PC Hardware
  • Reviews
  • Search Engines
  • Virtualization
More
    Home Cybersecurity
    • Cybersecurity
    • Networking
    • PC Hardware
    • Small Business

    Botnet Masquerade Leads to Disruption at Small Websites

    By
    Robert Lemos
    -
    September 5, 2012
    Share
    Facebook
    Twitter
    Linkedin

      A malicious program, designed by cyber-criminals to help them build their botnets, is causing disruption at hundreds of small Websites as the program attempts to hide its communications by sending out a large number of fake requests, said security firm Dell Secureworks Sept. 5.

      The software, known as Pushdo, communicates with its command-and-control servers-central systems used by criminals to manage their compromised computers-and downloads other malware to construct a botnet. In this case, the downloader infects systems with Cutwail, a popular program for creating spam botnets. So far, the attack has infected more than 100,000 computers-and possibly hundreds of thousands of computers, said Brett Stone-Gross, a security researcher with managed security provider Dell Secureworks.

      The operation is fairly standard except that the attackers attempt to hide their communications by creating a gaggle of fake data, which they send to a few hundred legitimate Websites. Even a small number of requests can overwhelm such sites when it comes from hundreds of thousands of computers, he said.

      “It’s pretty intensive,” Stone-Gross said. “It definitely generates on the order of a megabyte every few seconds.”

      While such traffic volume is far from the major denial-of-service attacks that are common today, the constant stream of data is enough to swamp a smaller Website’s bandwidth allotment and make identifying the fake data more difficult.

      The type of traffic generated by the Pushdo variant depends on a pseudo-random algorithm that creates POST and GET requests that go to the site’s home page or a randomly generated page. The actual command-and-control traffic goes back to servers in Russia and Kazakhstan, according to Dell Secureworks’ analysis of the attack. The Cutwail botnet used a similar method to hide its communications by sending it as secure HTTP traffic.

      “If the malware generates 300 HTTP requests and you are a malware analyst, you have to dig through the 300 requests to find the one that actually goes to the command-and-control server,” Stone-Gross said.

      The Websites are otherwise not related to the attack and not infected with malware, he said.

      Web masters that see an increase in traffic to nonexistent addresses should filter out requests with the unique string “xclzve_”, which appears to be included in the traffic generated by the Pushdo botnet. An Internet search on the term turns up a number of discussions of the traffic dating back to the beginning of August.

      Internet users should keep their browsers and browser plug-ins updated, as much of the malware is spread through drive-by downloads, a technique where users are sent a link to a Website which then attempts to infect visitors. Antivirus technology can help, although such host-based measures fail to catch many new threats.

      Dell Secureworks “recommends that businesses continue to educate employees about the risks associated with clicking URLs, especially those contained in email, and to enforce policies to keep the software on systems up-to-date,” the company said.

      Robert Lemos
      Robert Lemos is an award-winning freelance journalist who has covered information security, cybercrime and technology's impact on society for almost two decades. A former research engineer, he's written for Ars Technica, CNET, eWEEK, MIT Technology Review, Threatpost and ZDNet. He won the prestigious Sigma Delta Chi award from the Society of Professional Journalists in 2003 for his coverage of the Blaster worm and its impact, and the SANS Institute's Top Cybersecurity Journalists in 2010 and 2014.

      MOST POPULAR ARTICLES

      Big Data and Analytics

      Alteryx’s Suresh Vittal on the Democratization of...

      James Maguire - May 31, 2022 0
      I spoke with Suresh Vittal, Chief Product Officer at Alteryx, about the industry mega-shift toward making data analytics tools accessible to a company’s complete...
      Read more
      Cybersecurity

      Visa’s Michael Jabbara on Cybersecurity and Digital...

      James Maguire - May 17, 2022 0
      I spoke with Michael Jabbara, VP and Global Head of Fraud Services at Visa, about the cybersecurity technology used to ensure the safe transfer...
      Read more
      Big Data and Analytics

      GoodData CEO Roman Stanek on Business Intelligence...

      James Maguire - May 4, 2022 0
      I spoke with Roman Stanek, CEO of GoodData, about business intelligence, data as a service, and the frustration that many executives have with data...
      Read more
      Applications

      Cisco’s Thimaya Subaiya on Customer Experience in...

      James Maguire - May 10, 2022 0
      I spoke with Thimaya Subaiya, SVP and GM of Global Customer Experience at Cisco, about the factors that create good customer experience – and...
      Read more
      Cloud

      Yotascale CEO Asim Razzaq on Controlling Multicloud...

      James Maguire - May 5, 2022 0
      Asim Razzaq, CEO of Yotascale, provides guidance on understanding—and containing—the complex cost structure of multicloud computing. Among the topics we covered:  As you survey the...
      Read more
      Logo

      eWeek has the latest technology news and analysis, buying guides, and product reviews for IT professionals and technology buyers. The site’s focus is on innovative solutions and covering in-depth technical content. eWeek stays on the cutting edge of technology news and IT trends through interviews and expert analysis. Gain insight from top innovators and thought leaders in the fields of IT, business, enterprise software, startups, and more.

      Facebook
      Linkedin
      RSS
      Twitter
      Youtube

      Advertisers

      Advertise with TechnologyAdvice on eWeek and our other IT-focused platforms.

      Advertise with Us

      Menu

      • About eWeek
      • Subscribe to our Newsletter
      • Latest News

      Our Brands

      • Privacy Policy
      • Terms
      • About
      • Contact
      • Advertise
      • Sitemap
      • California – Do Not Sell My Information

      Property of TechnologyAdvice.
      © 2021 TechnologyAdvice. All Rights Reserved

      Advertiser Disclosure: Some of the products that appear on this site are from companies from which TechnologyAdvice receives compensation. This compensation may impact how and where products appear on this site including, for example, the order in which they appear. TechnologyAdvice does not include all companies or all types of products available in the marketplace.

      ×