- Oct 9, 1999
- 46,791
- 10,428
- 147
A years-long investigation and global cooperation disrupted one of the biggest botnets ever.
"AT THE HEIGHT of its powers, Necurs was one of the most disruptive forces on the internet. A sort of Swiss Army botnet, over the years it has harnessed more than 9 million computers unwittingly under its control to send spam, distribute ransomware, attack financial institutions, and more. Last week, Microsoft pulled its plug.
Necurs has been silent lately—its most recent significant activity petered out last March—but it still has 2 million infected systems awaiting its next command. By disrupting what remains of the botnet—in coordination with law enforcement and internet service providers across 35 countries, and with the help of cybersecurity firms like BitSight and ShadowServer—Microsoft has effectively prevented Necurs from rising again.
“This disruption is the result of eight years of tracking and planning,” wrote Microsoft corporate vice president Tom Burt in a blog announcing the takedown, “and will help ensure the criminals behind this network are no longer able to use key elements of its infrastructure.” Microsoft declined to comment further, but the company has taken the lead on similar takedowns in the past, given the extent to which operations like Necurs threaten Windows devices and their users."
Microsoft doing something good and being effective at it? You don't say!
"AT THE HEIGHT of its powers, Necurs was one of the most disruptive forces on the internet. A sort of Swiss Army botnet, over the years it has harnessed more than 9 million computers unwittingly under its control to send spam, distribute ransomware, attack financial institutions, and more. Last week, Microsoft pulled its plug.
Necurs has been silent lately—its most recent significant activity petered out last March—but it still has 2 million infected systems awaiting its next command. By disrupting what remains of the botnet—in coordination with law enforcement and internet service providers across 35 countries, and with the help of cybersecurity firms like BitSight and ShadowServer—Microsoft has effectively prevented Necurs from rising again.
“This disruption is the result of eight years of tracking and planning,” wrote Microsoft corporate vice president Tom Burt in a blog announcing the takedown, “and will help ensure the criminals behind this network are no longer able to use key elements of its infrastructure.” Microsoft declined to comment further, but the company has taken the lead on similar takedowns in the past, given the extent to which operations like Necurs threaten Windows devices and their users."
Microsoft doing something good and being effective at it? You don't say!
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