Security News > 2022 > December > Researchers 'Accidentally’ Crash KmsdBot Cryptocurrency Mining Botnet Network

An ongoing analysis into an up-and-coming cryptocurrency mining botnet known as KmsdBot has led to it being accidentally taken down.

The botnet strikes both Windows and Linux devices spanning a wide range of microarchitectures with the primary goal of deploying mining software and corralling the compromised hosts into a DDoS bot.

"Interestingly, after one single improperly formatted command, the bot stopped sending commands," Cashdollar said.

"It's not every day you come across a botnet that the threat actors themselves crash their own handiwork."

Specifically, an instruction issued without a space between the target website and the port caused the entire Go binary running on the infected machine to crash and stop interacting with its command-and-control server, effectively killing the botnet.

"This botnet has been going after some very large luxury brands and gaming companies, and yet, with one failed command it cannot continue," Cashdollar concluded.

News URL

http://thehackernews.com/2022/12/researchers-accidentally-crashed.html