Microsoft disrupts botnet that generated $2.7M per month for operators

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selected>Standard</option> <option value="large">Large</option> </select> <label class="font-impact hidden w-20 text-base font-semibold uppercase text-gray-100 md:block" for="text-settings-width">Width <span class="text-gray-400">*</span> </label> <select name="text-settings-width" class="text-settings-width col-span-2 hidden bg-gray-600 text-sm text-gray-300 md:block"> <option value="standard" selected>Standard</option> <option value="wide">Wide</option> </select> <label class="font-impact w-20 text-base font-semibold uppercase text-gray-100" for="text-settings-links">Links</label> <select name="text-settings-links" class="text-settings-links col-span-2 bg-gray-600 text-sm text-gray-300"> <option value="standard" selected>Standard</option> <option value="orange">Orange</option> </select> <div class="font-impact col-span-3 hidden text-sm font-semibold uppercase text-gray-400 md:block"> <span class="mb-0 italic">* Subscribers only</span><br>   <a href="/store/product/subscriptions/" class="text-green-400">Learn more</a> </div> <button class="font-impact text-settings-position col-span-3 mx-auto my-3 block rounded-sm border-2 border-green-400 px-3 py-1 text-base font-semibold uppercase text-gray-100" value="story"> Pin to story </button> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div x-data="{ open: false, toggle() { if (this.open) { return this.close() } // If we're inside main header, add a data attribute to the header if (this.$el.closest('#site-header')) { this.$el.closest('#site-header').dataset.dropdownOpen = 'true'; } this.open = true }, close() { if (!this.open) { return; } // If we're inside main header, add a data attribute to the header if (this.$el.closest('#site-header')) { this.$el.closest('#site-header').dataset.dropdownOpen = 'false'; } this.open = false } }" @keydown.escape.prevent.stop="close($refs.button)" @focusin.window="! $refs.panel.contains($event.target) && close()" x-id="['dropdown-button']">  <button type="button" x-ref="button" x-on:click=" toggle(); $dispatch('dropdown-opened', { panel: $refs.panel }); " :aria-expanded="open" :aria-controls="$id('dropdown-button')" :class="{ selected: open }" class="group flex items-center group" arial-label="" aria-label="Open Theme selection dropdown"> <span class="sr-only">Theme</span> <span x-data="{ placeholder: true }"> <span class="inline-block h-5 w-5" x-show="placeholder"></span> <span x-show="darkMode" x-cloak x-init="placeholder = false"> <svg class="h-5 w-5 text-yellow-100 group-hover:text-yellow-200" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 38.4 38.4"><defs><clipPath id="theme-dark_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h38.4v38.4H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="theme-dark_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h38.4v38.4H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#theme-dark_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#theme-dark_svg__b)"><path d="M14.5 11.4c0-4.3 1.4-8.2 3.7-11.4C8.8 1.3 1.6 9.3 1.6 19.1s8.6 19.3 19.3 19.3 12.1-3.1 15.6-7.9c-.9.1-1.8.2-2.7.2-10.7 0-19.3-8.6-19.3-19.3m17.8-6.8v2.1c0 .8-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4s-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4V4.6c0-.8.6-1.4 1.4-1.4s1.4.6 1.4 1.4m0 6.8v2.1c0 .8-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4s-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4v-2.1c0-.8.6-1.4 1.4-1.4s1.4.6 1.4 1.4m-5.8-3.7h2.1c.8 0 1.4.6 1.4 1.4s-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4h-2.1c-.8 0-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4s.6-1.4 1.4-1.4m6.8 0h2.1c.8 0 1.4.6 1.4 1.4s-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4h-2.1c-.8 0-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4s.6-1.4 1.4-1.4"/></g></g></svg> </span> <span x-show="!darkMode" x-cloak x-init="placeholder = false"> <svg class="h-5 w-5 text-yellow-400 group-hover:text-yellow-200" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 40 40"><defs><clipPath id="theme-light_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="theme-light_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#theme-light_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#theme-light_svg__b)"><path d="M30 20c0 5.5-4.5 10-10 10s-10-4.5-10-10 4.5-10 10-10 10 4.5 10 10m8.6 1.4h-2.2c-.8 0-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4s.6-1.4 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class=""> <li> <button class=" group flex w-full flex-row items-center px-5 py-2 text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-700 hover:text-green-400 focus:bg-gray-700 focus:text-green-400" name="theme" type="submit" value="light" aria-label="Set theme to Light"> <svg class="group-with-selected:text-green-400 mr-2 inline-block h-5 w-5 text-gray-100 group-hover:text-green-400 group-focus:text-green-400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 40 40"><defs><clipPath id="theme-light_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="theme-light_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#theme-light_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#theme-light_svg__b)"><path d="M30 20c0 5.5-4.5 10-10 10s-10-4.5-10-10 4.5-10 10-10 10 4.5 10 10m8.6 1.4h-2.2c-.8 0-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4s.6-1.4 1.4-1.4h2.2c.8 0 1.4.6 1.4 1.4s-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4M34.1 7.9l-1.5 1.5c-.6.6-1.5.6-2 0-.6-.6-.6-1.5 0-2l1.5-1.5c.6-.6 1.5-.6 2 0 .6.6.6 1.5 0 2M21.4 1.4v2.2c0 .8-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4s-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4V1.4c0-.8.6-1.4 1.4-1.4s1.4.6 1.4 1.4M7.9 5.9l1.5 1.5c.6.6.6 1.5 0 2-.6.6-1.5.6-2 0L5.9 7.9c-.6-.6-.6-1.5 0-2 .6-.6 1.5-.6 2 0M1.4 18.6h2.2c.8 0 1.4.6 1.4 1.4s-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4H1.4C.6 21.4 0 20.8 0 20s.6-1.4 1.4-1.4m4.5 13.5 1.5-1.5c.6-.6 1.4-.6 2 0s.6 1.5 0 2l-1.5 1.5c-.6.6-1.5.6-2 0-.6-.6-.6-1.5 0-2m12.7 6.5v-2.2c0-.8.6-1.4 1.4-1.4s1.4.6 1.4 1.4v2.2c0 .8-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4s-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4m13.5-4.5-1.5-1.5c-.6-.6-.6-1.4 0-2s1.5-.6 2 0l1.5 1.5c.6.6.6 1.5 0 2-.6.6-1.5.6-2 0"/></g></g></svg> Light </button> </li> <li> <button class=" group flex w-full flex-row items-center px-5 py-2 text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-700 hover:text-green-400 focus:bg-gray-700 focus:text-green-400" name="theme" type="submit" value="dark" aria-label="Set theme to Dark"> <svg class="group-with-selected:text-green-400 mr-2 inline-block h-5 w-5 text-gray-100 group-hover:text-green-400 group-focus:text-green-400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 38.4 38.4"><defs><clipPath id="theme-dark_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h38.4v38.4H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="theme-dark_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h38.4v38.4H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#theme-dark_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#theme-dark_svg__b)"><path d="M14.5 11.4c0-4.3 1.4-8.2 3.7-11.4C8.8 1.3 1.6 9.3 1.6 19.1s8.6 19.3 19.3 19.3 12.1-3.1 15.6-7.9c-.9.1-1.8.2-2.7.2-10.7 0-19.3-8.6-19.3-19.3m17.8-6.8v2.1c0 .8-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4s-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4V4.6c0-.8.6-1.4 1.4-1.4s1.4.6 1.4 1.4m0 6.8v2.1c0 .8-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4s-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4v-2.1c0-.8.6-1.4 1.4-1.4s1.4.6 1.4 1.4m-5.8-3.7h2.1c.8 0 1.4.6 1.4 1.4s-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4h-2.1c-.8 0-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4s.6-1.4 1.4-1.4m6.8 0h2.1c.8 0 1.4.6 1.4 1.4s-.6 1.4-1.4 1.4h-2.1c-.8 0-1.4-.6-1.4-1.4s.6-1.4 1.4-1.4"/></g></g></svg> Dark </button> </li> <li> <button class="selected bg-gray-700 text-green-400 group flex w-full flex-row items-center px-5 py-2 text-gray-300 hover:bg-gray-700 hover:text-green-400 focus:bg-gray-700 focus:text-green-400" name="theme" type="submit" value="system" aria-label="Set theme to System"> <svg class="group-with-selected:text-green-400 mr-2 inline-block h-5 w-5 text-gray-100 group-hover:text-green-400 group-focus:text-green-400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 40 40"><defs><clipPath id="theme-system_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="theme-system_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#theme-system_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#theme-system_svg__b)"><path d="M32 4c2.2 0 4 1.8 4 4v24c0 2.2-1.8 4-4 4H8c-2.2 0-4-1.8-4-4V8c0-2.2 1.8-4 4-4zm0-4H8C3.6 0 0 3.6 0 8v24c0 4.4 3.6 8 8 8h24c4.4 0 8-3.6 8-8V8c0-4.4-3.6-8-8-8"/><path d="M8 8h8v8H8z"/></g></g></svg> System </button> </li> </ul> </nav> </form> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hidden md:flex md:justify-center" data-modal-id="search" x-data="{ open: false, init() { this.modalId = this.$el.dataset.modalId; }, show() { console.log(this.data); this.open = true; this.$dispatch('modal-opened', { panel: this.$refs.panel, modalId: this.modalId, }); }, hide() { this.open = false }, }"> <button type="button" aria-label="Search dialog..." class="search-button flex flex-row items-center text-gray-300 hover:text-gray-100" aria-label="Open search dialog" x-on:click="show()"> <svg class="h-5 w-5" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 40 40"><defs><clipPath id="magnify_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="magnify_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#magnify_svg__a)"><g fill="none" clip-path="url(#magnify_svg__b)"><path fill="currentColor" d="M39.2 35.4 29 25.2c4.4-6.2 3.9-15-1.7-20.6C24.2 1.6 20.1 0 16 0S7.8 1.6 4.7 4.7c-6.2 6.2-6.2 16.4 0 22.6C7.8 30.4 11.9 32 16 32s6.5-1 9.3-3l10.2 10.2c.5.5 1.2.8 1.9.8s1.4-.3 1.9-.8c1-1 1-2.7 0-3.8M8.5 23.5c-2-2-3.1-4.7-3.1-7.5s1.1-5.5 3.1-7.5 4.7-3.1 7.5-3.1 5.5 1.1 7.5 3.1c4.2 4.2 4.2 10.9 0 15.1-2 2-4.7 3.1-7.5 3.1s-5.5-1.1-7.5-3.1"/></g></g></svg> </button> <template x-teleport="body"> <div class="fixed inset-0 z-[99999] overflow-y-auto" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" x-cloak x-show="open" x-on:keydown.escape.window.prevent.stop="open = false" x-id="['modal-title']" x-ref="panel" :aria-labelledby="$id('modal-title')"> <div class="fixed inset-0 bg-slate-900/80 opacity-100 backdrop-blur" x-show="open" x-transition.duration.150ms> </div> <div class="relative flex min-h-screen items-center justify-center" x-on:click="open = false" x-show="open" x-transition.duration.150ms> <div x-on:click.stop x-trap.noscroll.inert="open"> <span class="sr-only" :id="$id('modal-title')"> Search dialog... </span> <div class="search-wrapper relative z-[99999] w-screen p-5"> <div class="gcse-search"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </template> </div> <div class="h-5 w-[1px] bg-gray-400"></div> <div class="flex md:justify-center" data-modal-id="sign-in" x-data="{ open: false, init() { this.modalId = this.$el.dataset.modalId; }, show() { console.log(this.data); this.open = true; this.$dispatch('modal-opened', { panel: this.$refs.panel, modalId: this.modalId, }); }, hide() { this.open = false }, }"> <button type="button" aria-label="Sign in dialog..." class="whitespace-nowrap text-gray-300 hover:text-gray-100" aria-label="Open sign in dialog" x-on:click="show()"> Sign In </button> <template x-teleport="body"> <div class="fixed inset-0 z-[99999] overflow-y-auto" role="dialog" aria-modal="true" x-cloak x-show="open" x-on:keydown.escape.window.prevent.stop="open = false" x-id="['modal-title']" x-ref="panel" :aria-labelledby="$id('modal-title')"> <div class="fixed inset-0 bg-slate-900/80 opacity-100 backdrop-blur" x-show="open" x-transition.duration.150ms> </div> <div class="relative flex min-h-screen items-center justify-center" x-on:click="open = false" x-show="open" x-transition.duration.150ms> <div x-on:click.stop x-trap.noscroll.inert="open"> <span class="sr-only" :id="$id('modal-title')"> Sign in dialog... </span> <div class="sign-in-panel absolute left-1/2 top-1/2 w-3/4 min-w-[320px] max-w-xl -translate-x-1/2 -translate-y-1/2" > <header class="font-impact flex items-center justify-between bg-gray-600 px-7 py-4 font-semibold uppercase" > <div class="text-gray-350 flex items-center gap-3"> <svg class="h-3 w-3 text-green-400" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 40 40"><defs><clipPath id="arrow-blocks-right_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#arrow-blocks-right_svg__a)"><path d="M32 16h8v8h-8zm-8 8h8v8h-8zm-8 8h8v8h-8zm8-24h8v8h-8zm-8-8h8v8h-8zM0 16h16v8H0z"/></g></svg> Sign in </div> <button class="text-gray-300 hover:text-gray-100 focus:text-gray-100" x-on:click="open = false" > <svg class="h-3 w-3" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 34.7 40"><defs><clipPath id="x_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h34.7v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g fill="none" clip-path="url(#x_svg__a)"><path fill="currentColor" d="m26.4 0-8.5 16.9h-1.1L8.3 0H.8l10.1 19.4L0 40h7.6l9.2-18.3h1.1L27.1 40h7.6L23.8 19.4 33.9 0z"/></g></svg> </button> </header> <div class="sign-in-panel-body bg-gray-700 px-7 py-4"> <div class="col-span-3 normal-case text-gray-300" x-data="{ html: '', form: '', triggered: false }" x-on:modal-opened.window=" panel = $el.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement.parentElement; if (triggered || panel !== event.detail.panel) { return; } triggered = true; html = await (await fetch('/civis/login')).text(); // Parse html for form with action=/civis/login/login parser = new DOMParser(); doc = parser.parseFromString(html, 'text/html'); form = doc.querySelector('form[action="/civis/login/login"]'); // Remove autofocus and set focus to username field username = form.querySelector('input[name="login"]'); username.removeAttribute('autofocus'); document.querySelector('.sign-in-form').appendChild(form); username.focus(); " > <div class="sign-in-form"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </template> </div> </div> </header> <main class="main relative -mt-4 lg:mt-6" id="main"> <article class="double-column h-entry post-381977 post type-post status-publish format-standard has-post-thumbnail hentry category-information-technology category-tech-policy" data-id="381977"> <header> <div class="my-4 bg-gray-700 py-4 md:my-10 md:py-8"> <div class="mx-auto max-w-2xl px-4 md:px-8 lg:grid lg:max-w-6xl"> <div class="md:mb-2"> <div class="upper-deck font-impact inline-flex flex-row flex-nowrap items-center gap-2 text-left text-sm font-semibold uppercase leading-tight text-green-400"> <span class="upper-deck__icon"> <svg class="h-5 w-5" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 40 40"><defs><clipPath id="section-information-technology_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="section-information-technology_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h40v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#section-information-technology_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#section-information-technology_svg__b)"><path d="M35 0H5C2.2 0 0 2.2 0 5s2.2 5 5 5h30c2.8 0 5-2.2 5-5s-2.2-5-5-5m-6.9 7c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2s.9-2 2-2 2 .9 2 2-.9 2-2 2m6 0c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2s.9-2 2-2 2 .9 2 2-.9 2-2 2m.9 8H5c-2.8 0-5 2.2-5 5s2.2 5 5 5h30c2.8 0 5-2.2 5-5s-2.2-5-5-5m-6.9 7.2c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2s.9-2 2-2 2 .9 2 2-.9 2-2 2m6 0c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2s.9-2 2-2 2 .9 2 2-.9 2-2 2M35 30H5c-2.8 0-5 2.2-5 5s2.2 5 5 5h30c2.8 0 5-2.2 5-5s-2.2-5-5-5m-6.9 7.4c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2s.9-2 2-2 2 .9 2 2-.9 2-2 2m6 0c-1.1 0-2-.9-2-2s.9-2 2-2 2 .9 2 2-.9 2-2 2"/></g></g></svg> </span> <span class="upper-deck__text"> Biz & IT </span> </div> </div> <h1 class="mb-3 font-serif text-4xl font-bold text-gray-100 md:text-6xl md:leading-[1.05]"> Microsoft disrupts botnet that generated $2.7M per month for operators </h1> <p class="my-3 text-2xl leading-[1.1] text-gray-300 md:leading-[1.2]"> Update: researchers say not all C&C servers seized, and P2P makes takedown moot. </p> <div class="my-3 md:mb-6 md:mt-0"> <div class="font-impact text-xs font-semibold uppercase text-gray-300"><a class="text-orange-400 hover:text-orange-500" href="https://arstechnica.com/author/sean-gallagher/"> Sean Gallagher </a> – <span class="whitespace-nowrap"> <time class="mr-[2px] inline-block cursor-default" title="2013-12-06T11:32:41-05:00" datetime="2013-12-06T11:32:41-05:00" x-data="{ compact: false, open: false, date: new Date('2013-12-06T11:32:41-05:00'), updatedTimestamp: false, format: function() { let dateFormat = { year: 'numeric', month: 'short', day: 'numeric' }; let timeFormat = { hour: 'numeric', minute: 'numeric' }; let formatted = this.date.toLocaleDateString(undefined, dateFormat) + ' ' + this.date.toLocaleTimeString(undefined, timeFormat); if (this.compact) { if (this.date.toDateString() === new Date().toDateString()) { formatted = this.date.toLocaleTimeString(undefined, timeFormat); if (this.updatedTimestamp) { formatted = 'at ' + formatted; } } else { formatted = this.date.toLocaleDateString(undefined, { year: 'numeric', month: 'numeric', day: 'numeric' }); } } if (this.updatedTimestamp) { formatted = 'Updated ' + formatted; } return formatted; } }" x-text="format()"> Dec 6, 2013 11:32 am </time> <span class="text-gray-550">|</span> <a class="view-comments text-gray-300 hover:text-gray-500" href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/12/microsoft-disrupts-botnet-that-generated-2-7m-per-month-for-operators/#comments" title="46 comments"> <svg class="-mt-1 ml-1 mr-[2px] inline-block h-4 w-4" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 80 80"><defs><clipPath id="bubble-zero_svg__a"><path fill="none" stroke-width="0" d="M0 0h80v80H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="bubble-zero_svg__b"><path fill="none" stroke-width="0" d="M0 0h80v80H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#bubble-zero_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#bubble-zero_svg__b)"><path d="M80 40c0 22.09-17.91 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class="pswp-caption-content" id="caption-381993"> <div class="caption font-impact mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> Microsoft's Cybercrime Center. <span class="caption-credit mt-2 text-xs"> Credit: Microsoft </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div> <div class="caption font-impact mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> Microsoft's Cybercrime Center. <span class="caption-credit mt-2 text-xs"> Credit: Microsoft </span> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </header> <div class="text-settings-dropdown-story mdl:absolute mdl:z-10 mdl:mb-0 mdl:mt-1 relative -mt-4 mb-2"> <div x-data="{ open: false, toggle() { if (this.open) { return this.close() } // If we're inside main header, 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for="text-settings-links">Links</label> <select name="text-settings-links" class="text-settings-links col-span-2 bg-gray-600 text-sm text-gray-300"> <option value="standard" selected>Standard</option> <option value="orange">Orange</option> </select> <div class="font-impact col-span-3 hidden text-sm font-semibold uppercase text-gray-400 md:block"> <span class="mb-0 italic">* Subscribers only</span><br>   <a href="/store/product/subscriptions/" class="text-green-400">Learn more</a> </div> <button class="font-impact text-settings-position col-span-3 mx-auto my-3 block rounded-sm border-2 border-green-400 px-3 py-1 text-base font-semibold uppercase text-gray-100" value="nav"> Minimize to nav </button> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mx-auto my-2.5 px-[15px] sm:px-5 lg:grid lg:max-w-5xl lg:grid-cols-3 lg:gap-6 lg:px-8 xl:px-0"> <div class="relative lg:col-span-2"> <div class="post-content post-content-double"> <p>On Thursday, Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit, the legal and technical team that has driven the takedown of <a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2013/02/massive-search-fraud-botnet-siezed-by-microsoft-and-symantec/">botnets such as Bamital</a> and <a href="http://arstechnica.com/security/2012/09/microsoft-zaps-botnet-found-pre-installed-with-counterfeit-windows/">Nitol</a> during the past year, announced that it has moved with Europol, industry partners, and the FBI to disrupt yet another search fraud botnet. The ZeroAccess botnet, also known as ZAccess or Siref, has taken over approximately 2 million PCs worldwide; Microsoft estimates that it has cost search engine advertisers on Google, Bing, and Yahoo over $2.7 million each month.</p> <p><a href="http://krebsonsecurity.com/2013/12/zeroaccess-botnet-down-but-not-out/">According to</a> security reporter Brian Krebs, ZeroAccess began its life cycle in 2009 as a delivery network for other malware—dropping paying customers' viruses and Trojans, including "scareware" fake antivirus packages—onto PCs it had successfully infected. But since then, it has evolved into a "clickfraud" platform—intercepting search requests from the user's Web browser and injecting fraudulent hyperlinks into the results returned from major search sites. The botnet operators get paid through advertising networks for the traffic sent to the sites as if the user had clicked on a legitimate ad.</p> <p>After identifying the IP addresses of 18 command-and-control servers involved in directing ZeroAccess, Microsoft filed civil lawsuits last week against the botnet operators in the US District Court for the Western District of Texas. The court gave Microsoft permission in court to block traffic between them and PCs in the US using technology provided by networking vendor <a href="http://www.a10networks.com/">A10 Networks</a>.</p> <p>As Microsoft executed the traffic block, Europol's <a href="https://www.europol.europa.eu/content/notorious-botnet-infecting-2-million-computers-disrupted">European Cybercrime Center</a> in Germany coordinated law enforcement raids on the locations of those IP addresses, resulting in the seizure of the servers involved. Law enforcement in Latvia, Germany, Switzerland, and Luxembourg were involved in the seizures.</p> <div class="ars-interlude-container in-content-interlude mx-auto max-w-xl"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="hidden min-w-[300px] justify-self-end bg-gray-100 dark:bg-gray-50 lg:block"> <div class="ad-wrapper is-sticky is-rail"> <div class="ad-wrapper-inner"> <div class="ad ad--rail"></div> </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="ad-wrapper with-label is-fullwidth"> <div class="ad-wrapper-inner"> <div class="ad ad--mid-content"> </div> </div> </div> <div class="mx-auto my-2.5 px-[15px] sm:px-5 lg:grid lg:max-w-5xl lg:grid-cols-3 lg:gap-6 lg:px-8 xl:px-0"> <div class="relative lg:col-span-2"> <div class="post-content post-content-double"> <figure class="ars-video"><div class="relative" style="aspect-ratio: 1.5238095238095 auto;"><iframe class="absolute left-0 top-0 block h-full w-full object-cover" allow="fullscreen" loading="lazy" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/BFxgzjL-el0?start=0&wmode=transparent"></iframe></div><div class="caption font-impact mb-4 mt-2 inline-flex flex-row items-stretch gap-1 text-base leading-tight text-gray-300"> <div class="caption-icon bg-[left_top_5px] w-[10px] shrink-0"></div> <div class="caption-content"> Microsoft's video on the ZeroAccess takedown effort at the company's recently launched Cybercrime Center. </div> </div> </figure> <p>But ZeroAccess may not be down for long. While the C&C servers are down, the botnet uses a peer-to-peer connection between infected systems to spread software updates, new configuration information, and other payloads. The C&C servers targeted only delivered part of the overall clickfraud package that included instructions on where to redirect traffic and the data required to get credit for the click from the advertiser. The only way to effectively dismantle the botnet would be to clean all of the infected PCs of the malware.</p> <p><strong><span style="text-decoration: underline;">Update:</span> </strong> According to analysis from researchers at Damballa, the Microsoft attempt at takedown of ZeroAccess' C&C infrastructure was a failure, because it left a significant number of servers still active. By the estimates of researcher Yacin Nadji and Damballa chief scientist Manos Antonakakis, 62 percent of the C&C infrastructure remained active after the 18 identified IP addresses were taken down. In a blog post, the researchers noted that even if Microsoft had been effective in taking down all of the C&C infrastructure, the botnet would be able to continue to operate unless the P2P communications were disrupted as well. "Disabling the click-fraud component is trivially countered by the botmaster by simply pushing an updated binary over the P2P channel with fresh click-fraud configurations," they wrote in a blog post to be published today. "This extensive legal work can be undone in a matter of hours."</p> <p>As a result, taking the servers down may only temporarily disrupt the flow of clicks (and corresponding flow of cash). Microsoft hopes that by taking down the servers, it will be able to identify which advertising affiliates and publishers were tied to the botnet operators by their sudden drop in sent traffic.</p> </div> <div class="-mx-2.5 sm:mx-0"> <section class="my-5 bg-gray-700" id="related-stories"> <div class="related-stories-title font-impact flex flex-row items-center justify-center gap-2 bg-gray-600 px-5 py-2 text-xl font-extrabold uppercase text-green-400"> <svg class="h-5 w-auto" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 60 40"><defs><clipPath id="double-arrows_svg__a"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h60v40H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="double-arrows_svg__b"><path fill="none" d="M0 0h60v40H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g fill="none" clip-path="url(#double-arrows_svg__a)"><path fill="#ff4e00" d="m0 20 23.5 20L20 25h7.8l-5.9-5 5.9-5H20l3.5-15z"/><g clip-path="url(#double-arrows_svg__b)"><path fill="#e9eaed" d="m45 15 3.5-15L25 20l23.5 20L45 25h10c2.8 0 5-2.2 5-5s-2.2-5-5-5z"/></g></g></svg> <span>Related Stories</span> </div> <div class="related-stories-list"> <span class="ars-story-sidebar footnote inline"> <span class="relative inline-block w-full"> <span class="footnote-content w-full overflow-hidden pt-[5px]"> <span class="footnote-inner relative flex gap-3 overflow-hidden rounded-sm bg-gray-700 px-[15px] py-4 text-gray-300 sm:px-5"> <span class="relative aspect-square h-12 w-12 shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-full border-2 border-green-400 md:h-[72px] md:w-[72px] md:border-4"> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/massive-search-fraud-botnet-siezed-by-microsoft-and-symantec/"><img width="150" height="150" src="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/6403.Malware-150x150.jpg" class="absolute left-0 top-0 min-w-full min-h-full object-cover wp-post-image" alt="" srcset="https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/6403.Malware-150x150.jpg 150w, https://cdn.arstechnica.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/02/6403.Malware-500x500.jpg 500w" sizes="(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px" /></a> </span> <span class="footnote-headline"> <a class="footnote-link font-serif text-xl font-bold leading-none text-gray-100 hover:text-orange-400" href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/02/massive-search-fraud-botnet-siezed-by-microsoft-and-symantec/"> Massive search fraud botnet seized by Microsoft and Symantec </a><br> <span class="footnote-text text-gray-250 leading-tighter inline-block text-base"> Hundreds of thousands of Bamital bots made ring of 18 operators over $1M a year. </span> </span> </span> </span> </span> </span> </div> </section> </div> <div class="listing-credit my-2"> <p class="text-gray-350 font-impact text-sm font-semibold"> Listing image: Microsoft </p> </div> <div class="author-mini-bio"> <div class="flex flex-col items-start gap-5 border-t-4 py-5 dark:border-gray-700 sm:flex-row"> <div class="flex items-center gap-3"> <a class="relative block aspect-square h-24 w-24 shrink-0 overflow-hidden rounded-full border-4 border-green-400" href="https://arstechnica.com/author/sean-gallagher/"><img class="absolute left-0 top-0 min-h-full min-w-full object-cover" src="/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/s.gallagher-9.jpg" alt="Photo of Sean Gallagher"></a> <div class="font-impact mb-0 text-left text-base font-semibold uppercase sm:hidden"> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/author/sean-gallagher/">Sean Gallagher</a> <span class="block font-sans text-sm font-normal italic sm:inline-block">IT Editor Emeritus</span> </div> </div> <div class=""> <div class="font-impact mb-0 hidden text-left text-base font-semibold uppercase sm:block"> <a href="https://arstechnica.com/author/sean-gallagher/">Sean Gallagher</a> <span class="block font-sans text-sm font-normal italic sm:ml-2 sm:inline-block">IT Editor Emeritus</span> </div> <div class="text-left text-base leading-5 text-gray-400" itemprop="description"> Sean was previously Ars Technica's IT and National Security Editor, and is now a Principal Threat Researcher at SophosLabs. A former Navy officer, systems administrator, and network systems integrator with 20 years of IT journalism experience, he lives and works in Baltimore, Maryland. </div> </div> </div> </div> <div class="story-tools flex items-center justify-between border-t-4 text-sm dark:border-gray-700 sm:text-lg"> <a class="view-comments font-impact my-5 flex items-center gap-2 whitespace-nowrap font-semibold uppercase" href="https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2013/12/microsoft-disrupts-botnet-that-generated-2-7m-per-month-for-operators/#comments" title="46 comments"> <svg class="text-gray-300 hover:text-gray-500 h-6 w-6" xmlns="http://www.w3.org/2000/svg" viewBox="0 0 80 80"><defs><clipPath id="bubble-zero_svg__a"><path fill="none" stroke-width="0" d="M0 0h80v80H0z"/></clipPath><clipPath id="bubble-zero_svg__b"><path fill="none" stroke-width="0" d="M0 0h80v80H0z"/></clipPath></defs><g clip-path="url(#bubble-zero_svg__a)"><g fill="currentColor" clip-path="url(#bubble-zero_svg__b)"><path 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Microsoft disrupts botnet that generated $2.7M per month for operators - Ars Technica