The BBC has a story today about the rising number of zombies on the internet. No we’re not talking about people who stay up late surfing for porn (or other distractions) – we’re talking about computers that are infected with malicious computer code. These infected boxes become part of zombie networks (or botnets) that are run by hi-tech criminals. Come to think of it, these computers probably get infected when people stay up late surfing for porn and those other distractions.
Anyway, these networks can launch attacks on other websites – for political purposes or even for corporate extortion. Increasingly, spam, data theft, and phishing activities happen through these networks. The Shadowserver Foundation (an odd name for ”good guys” when you think about it) claims that there are over 450,000 machines that now belong to botnets on the internet. I’m guessing that number is still a bit low, but one thing is clear: criminals like the internet too.
If you need a little help with killing a zombie – check out this poster. Or just keep your security patches updated!
