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FINAL WORD
Preventing your
network from
becoming a
Botnet
Not having enough network protection
may allow your organisation’s devices
to be part of the next cyberattack,
according to Harish Chib, Vice President,
Middle East and Africa, Sophos.
B
otnets are large volumes of distributed networked computers
and devices that have been taken over by a cybercriminal.
Also referred to as bots, they are usually taken over by
malicious software to enable remote control by a threat actor.
They are set up and developed by a hacker to provide a powerful
and dark, cloud computing network to conduct cyberattacks of a
criminal nature.
The growth in mobile and network devices has created large scale
social and productivity benefits for us. We can now remotely access
computers, security systems, cameras, appliances and a growing list
of devices, interconnected with cloud. Collectively this is referred to as
the Internet of Things or IoT.
A worrying aspect of the growth of Internet-connected devices is
the absence of basic security precautions. Most end users rarely
change factory defaults, which can be exploited by hackers to take
control of the devices. Another door for cybercriminals to take
control of connected devices is called the back-door entry. This
is a manufacturer's access to the device through an undisclosed
connection, used for remote testing and updates.
This large distributed, network of computers, under the control of
threat actors, represents an aggregation of computing power that
can be used for a devastating effect.
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INTELLIGENTCIO
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