New Botnets Gaining Traction Across The Web, Study Says

Seven new botnets are now among the top 10 largest on the Web, according to a report published Wednesday.

According to Damballa's "Threat Report -- First Half 2011," only three of the top 10 largest botnets for the first half of 2011 appeared in Damballa's "Top 10 Botnets for 2010 Threat Report."

"OneStreetTroop," a botnet operation reliant on crimeware generated by the popular SpyEye do-it-yourself (DIY) construction kit, climbed from No. 10 in 2010 to the No. 1 position for the first half of 2011, according to the study. Eight of the top 10 largest botnets were built using popular "off-the-shelf" construction kits, Damballa says. And cybercriminals have found ways to use mobile malware to build botnets as well.

"Having mobile malware contact the criminal operator and establish two-way Internet communication now makes the mobile market as susceptible to criminal breach activity as desktop devices," the report says.

"Criminal operators continue to hone their craft in 2011 using crimeware that can be repurposed for multiple fraud opportunities, sold, or leased to other criminals, and that is now successfully infiltrating the mobile space,” said Gunter Ollmann, vice president of research for Damballa.

Have a comment on this story? Please click "Comment" below. If you'd like to contact Dark Reading's editors directly, send us a message.