Tag Archives: russian business network

Porn Spam Botnet Has Evil Twitter Twin

July 16, 2017
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Last month KrebsOnSecurity published research into a large distributed network of apparently compromised systems being used to relay huge blasts of junk email promoting “online dating” programs — affiliate-driven schemes traditionally overrun with automated accounts posing as women. New research suggests that another bot-promoting botnet of more than 80,000 automated female Twitter accounts has been pimping the same dating scheme and ginning up millions of clicks from Twitter users in the process.

Shunning and Stunning Malicious Networks

August 10, 2010
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McAfee just published the sixth edition of its Security Journal, which includes a lengthy piece I wrote about the pros and cons of taking down Internet service providers and botnets that facilitate cyber criminal activity. The analysis focuses on several historical examples of what I call “shuns” and “stuns,” or taking out rogue networks either by ostracizing them, or by kneecapping their infrastructure in a coordinated surprise attack, respectively.