Cyber criminals are on the road, there are opting different techniques to access your data through virus, Trojans, hacking, phishing, botnet, etc. SMEs are becoming an ideal platform for cyber criminals because they don’t take much security precautions. But being a part of botnet is nightmare for your SME, as it will affect your work, business, partners and customers. There is also a possibility of you getting into liability. We are not trying to scare you, but these issues can happen in reality and you need to be prepared to protect your business from botnets.
What is a botnet?
Botnets are a group of compromised computers that run under the command and control of cyber criminals. These criminals perform automated tasks on online without your knowledge.
Why cyber criminals use botnets?
Cyber criminals use botnets in different ways such as sending spam mails, click fraud, phishing, DOS attack on websites, etc.
- For stealing information: Most of the SMEs store their credential information such as financial account credentials, contact details, personal identifications, business documents, social security numbers and other important information, on their systems. If your system is a part of botnet, there are chances of cyber criminals accessing your information. Example, they may take loan or purchase under your name.
- Click fraud: Criminals access their site by using your system for generating revenue on pay-per-click advertising or for creating web traffic.
- DDOS attacks: Criminals use thousands of compromised systems at a time to impair or bring down the website or disrupt its services by creating disturbance in connectivity.
- Phishing: Criminals access botnets for hosting phishing sites.
How your system becomes part of botnet?
Generally, botnets enter into your system via Trojan virus with botnet’s code. They may enter into your system via infected email attachments, downloads, a link or button with fake warnings that provokes you to click or downloading a software, audios, videos or documents from malicious websites.
How to know that your system is part of botnet?
There are some common signs that helps you detect that your system is part of botnet – such as you can find email messages in your outbox that you haven’t send; all of a sudden your system starts or crashes or stops responding; your internet connection slows down; your firewall alerts on unknown programs are accessing the internet; your system cannot access a few or any website, etc.
You can also detect by using botnet detecting software such as RUBotted or BotHunter.
Precautions
There is no single technology that protects your system against botnet. Because they use multiple attacks and they frequently change or modify their code and shuffle their hosts. Your packet filtering, signature-based or port-based techniques will not be able to reduce the effect of botnets. Therefore, to protect your system from being part of botnet, follow the below mentioned ways.
- Install all important software’s: Install firewall, anti-virus and anti-spyware software in your system. Because when they find any risk to your system, they will alert you.
- Make sure all your software are up-to-date: Subscribe for automatic updates for important software.
- Check your network traffic regularly: Check your network traffic to see whether there is unusual traffic.
- Use strong passwords: Make sure your office networks have strong passwords.
Instead of being a part of botnet and its harmful effects, its sensible to protect your system, its network of computers and your business data.
Reproduced with permission from Knowledge-4-success.com.