Tagging and Tracking Espionage Botnets
A security researcher who’s spent the last 18 months cataloging and tracking malware that was developed and deployed online specifically for spying on governments, activists and industry executives says the complexity and scope of these cyberespionage malware networks now rivals many large conventional cybercrime operations.
Joe Stewart, senior director of malware research at Atlanta-based Dell SecureWorks, said he’s logged over 200 unique families of custom malware used in cyber-espionage campaigns, and some 1,000 domain names registered by cyberspies for using in hosting networks used to control the malware, or for use in “spear phishing,” highly targeted emails that spread the malware.
