Effects of botnets – a human-organisational approach
Journal Title: Security and Defence Quarterly - Year 2021, Vol 35, Issue 3
Abstract
Botnets, the remotely controlled networks of computers with malicious aims, have significantly affected the international order from Ukraine to the United States in recent years. Disruptive software, such as malware, ransomware, and disruptive services, provided by those botnets has many specific effects and properties. Therefore, it is paramount to improve the defences against them. To tackle botnets more or less successfully, one should analyse their code, communication, kill chain, and similar technical properties. However, according to the Business Model for Information Security, besides technological attributes, there is also a human and organisational aspect to their capabilities and behaviour. This paper aims to identify the aspects of different attacks and present an analysis framework to identify botnets’ technological and human attributes. After researching the literature and evaluating our previous findings in this research project, we formed a unified framework for the human-organisational classification of botnets. We tested the defined framework on five botnet attacks, presenting them as case studies. The chosen botnets were ElectrumDoSMiner, Emotet, Gamover Zeus, Mirai, and VPNFilter. The focus of the comparison was motivation, the applied business model, willingness to cooperate, capabilities, and the attack source. For defending entities, reaching the target state of defending capabilities is impossible with a one-time development due to cyberspace’s dynamic behaviour and botnets. Therefore, one has to develop cyberdefence and conduct threat intelligence on botnets using such methodology as that presented in this paper. This framework comprises people and technological attributes according to the BMIS model, providing the defender with a standard way of classification.
Authors and Affiliations
Zsolt Bederna, Tamás Szádeczky
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP705799
- DOI https://doi.org/10.35467/sdq/138588
- Views 78
- Downloads 0
The changing face of Russia’s information war against Ukraine and other democratic countries: Lessons and recommendations. Interview with Professor Sinan Aral
------------------------------
Russia's return to the superpower status
The elite of Russian power and Russian society have never come to terms with the collapse of the Soviet Union. They also did not accept the world order with the primary role of the United States. The purpose of this arti...
The Visegrad Group: Embracing the domain of outer space.
Space has become an increasingly relevant domain in security and defense policy. The study draws attention to significant interrelations among trends in modern warfare, emerging technologies and dependency on outer space...
Russian information offensive in the international relations
The information war is beginning to play a dominant role in international relations. It is important because it occurs intensively in peacetime and determines the results of international clashes. This article aims to id...
Current challenges to the non-proliferation regime: Iran and North Korea. A summary of professor Harnisch’ lecture
----------