- Akbot
Akbot is the name of a virus that added about 1.3 million computers to a
botnet network. [ [http://www.heise.de/english/newsticker/news/99816 Heise.de article] ]Infection
Akbot is an
IRC controlled backdoor program. It allows an outside user to take control of the infected computer. Akbot operates by joining IRC servers and the waiting for further instructions. Once installed, Akbot can be used to gather data, kill processes, or perform DDOS attacks. [ [http://vil.nai.com/vil/content/v_138050.htm NAI article] ] The size of the botnet is unknown, but it is believed to be large enough to cause aUniversity of Pennsylvania server to crash after the botmaster conspired with a student there to launch a DDOS attack on several IRC servers and a security forum called ssgroup.org.ource
The author, 18 year old New Zealand based botmaster, "
AKILL ", was caught during an international investigation, , during which his home was raided by New Zealand police and an FBI agent. He was charged, and convicted in April 2008. [ [http://www.pcworld.com/article/id,140133-c,cybercrime/article.html PC World article] ] [ [http://garwarner.blogspot.com/2008/04/akill-convicted-are-we-safer-now.html "AKILL Convicted - Are we safer now?"] ]References
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