Security News > 2023 > May > Threatening botnets can be created with little code experience, Akamai finds

Botnets are also getting easier to build and deploy because, much like legitimate software development, malicious botnets can be created using existing codebases.

One example of how little technical sophistication is required is evinced by a botnet dubbed Dark Frost by researchers at Akamai web services.

The Dark Frost botnet uses code from the infamous Mirai botnet.

West said while there are much bigger botnets out there, the Dark Frost botnet shows what you can do with just 400 compromised devices.

"The author of Mirai put out the source code for everyone to see, and I think that it started and encouraged the trend of other malware authors doing the same, or of security researchers publishing source code to get a bit of credibility," said West.

Is emblematic of how, with source code from previously successful malware strains and AI code generation, someone with minimal knowledge can launch botnets and malware.

News URL

https://www.techrepublic.com/article/akamai-threatening-botnets/