All news with #botnet tag

🔒 Qualys' Threat Research Unit reports a sharp rise in attacks targeting PHP servers, IoT devices and cloud gateways, driven by botnets such as Mirai, Gafgyt and Mozi exploiting known CVEs and misconfigurations. Researchers highlight active exploitation of flaws like CVE-2022-47945 (ThinkPHP RCE), CVE-2021-3129 (Laravel Ignition) and aging test/debug artifacts such as CVE-2017-9841, while attackers also harvest exposed AWS credentials. Qualys urges continuous visibility, timely patching, removal of debugging tools in production and managed secret stores to reduce risk.

🛡️ Aisuru, first identified in August 2024, has been retooled from launching record DDoS assaults to renting hundreds of thousands of compromised IoT devices as residential proxies. Researchers warn the change powers a massive proxy market that is being used to anonymize large-scale content scraping for AI training and other abuses. The botnet — roughly 700,000 devices strong — previously produced multi‑terabit attacks that disrupted ISPs and damaged router hardware. Industry and law enforcement are sharing blocklists and probing proxy reseller ecosystems tied to the infections.

🔐 Cybersecurity researchers have detailed PolarEdge, a TLS-based ELF implant used to conscript Cisco, ASUS, QNAP and Synology routers into a botnet. The backdoor implements an mbedTLS v2.8.0 server with a custom binary protocol, supports a connect-back and interactive debug mode, and stores its obfuscated configuration in the final 512 bytes of the ELF. Operators use anti-analysis techniques, process masquerading and file-moving/deletion routines; a forked watchdog can relaunch the payload if the parent process disappears.

🔍 Researchers at GreyNoise have identified a large-scale, multi-country botnet that began targeting Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) services in the United States on October 8. The campaign uses over 100,000 IP addresses and employs two RDP-specific techniques: RD Web Access timing attacks to infer valid usernames and RDP Web Client login enumeration to observe differing server behaviors. Nearly all sources share a common TCP fingerprint, indicating coordinated clusters. Administrators should block attacking IPs, review RDP logs, and avoid exposing remote desktop services to the public internet—use VPNs and enable multi-factor authentication.

⚠️ Aisuru, an IoT botnet derived from Mirai, generated a nearly 29.6 Tbps DDoS surge on Oct. 8, 2025, briefly disrupting major US ISPs and online gaming platforms. Logs show most attack traffic originated from compromised home routers, IP cameras and DVRs on networks operated by AT&T, Comcast, Verizon, T‑Mobile and Charter. TCPShield reported over 15 Tbps of junk traffic, and researchers warn Aisuru now operates as both a DDoS engine and a residential proxy network.

🔍 Trend Micro warns that RondoDox botnet campaigns have significantly expanded their targeting, exploiting more than 50 vulnerabilities across over 30 vendors to compromise routers, DVR/NVR systems, CCTV devices, web servers and other networked infrastructure. First observed by Trend Micro on June 15, 2025 via exploitation of CVE-2023-1389, and first documented by Fortinet FortiGuard Labs in July 2025, the threat now leverages a loader-as-a-service model that co-packages RondoDox with Mirai/Morte payloads, accelerating automated, multivector intrusions. The campaign includes 56 tracked flaws—18 without CVEs—spanning major vendors and underscores urgent detection and remediation needs.

🛰️ Aisuru, now the world’s largest IoT botnet, is drawing the majority of its attack volume from compromised consumer devices hosted by U.S. ISPs such as AT&T, Comcast and Verizon. In early October the botnet briefly generated a near‑30 terabit-per-second traffic flood, underscoring its rapidly expanding scale and destructive reach. The attacks have targeted gaming-focused networks and protection providers, causing widespread collateral congestion and forcing providers to reassess outbound mitigation. Built on Mirai-derived code, Aisuru is also being marketed as a residential proxy service, complicating attribution and remediation.

⚠️ RondoDox is a large-scale botnet actively exploiting 56 n-day vulnerabilities across more than 30 device types, including DVRs, NVRs, CCTV systems, routers, and web servers. Trend Micro researchers describe the campaign as using an exploit shotgun strategy, firing numerous exploits simultaneously to maximize infection despite generating noisy activity. The actor has weaponized flaws disclosed at events such as Pwn2Own and continues to expand its arsenal, including both recent CVEs and older end-of-life vulnerabilities. Recommended defenses include applying firmware updates, replacing EoL devices, segmenting networks, and removing default credentials.

🛡️ Darktrace has uncovered a ShadowV2 campaign that combines a GitHub CodeSpaces-hosted Python command-and-control framework, a Docker-based spreader, and a Go-based RAT to operate a DDoS-as-a-service platform. Attackers target exposed Docker daemons on AWS EC2 to build on-victim images and deploy malware via environment variables, reducing forensic artifacts. The platform exposes an OpenAPI-driven UI and multi-tenant API enabling HTTP/HTTP2 floods, UAM bypasses, and other configurable attack options.

🚨 ShadowV2 is a new botnet campaign that converts misconfigured Docker containers on AWS into a DDoS-for-hire platform. Darktrace’s analysis shows attackers exploiting exposed Docker daemons via the Python Docker SDK, building containers on victims' hosts and deploying a Go-based RAT that polls operators and launches large HTTP floods. The operation is highly professionalized, offering APIs, dashboards, operator logins and modular attack options that make DDoS easily rentable.

⚠️ Researchers at Darktrace disclosed ShadowV2, a DDoS-focused botnet that exploits misconfigured Docker daemons on AWS EC2 instances to deploy a Go-based RAT and enlist hosts as attack nodes. The campaign uses a Python spreader to spawn an Ubuntu setup container, build a custom image, and run an ELF payload that checks in with a Codespaces-hosted C2. Operators leverage HTTP/2 Rapid Reset floods, a Cloudflare UAM bypass via ChromeDP, and a FastAPI/Pydantic operator API, signaling a modular DDoS-for-hire service.

🛡️ Lumen Technologies' Black Lotus Labs reports that SystemBC, a C-based SOCKS5 proxy malware, powers roughly 80% of the REM Proxy network and averages about 1,500 compromised hosts per day. The botnet operates through more than 80 C2 servers and mainly targets VPS instances from major commercial providers, often via dropped shell scripts that install the proxy implant. REM Proxy also advertises pools of compromised Mikrotik routers and open proxies and has been used by actors tied to TransferLoader and the Morpheus ransomware group.

🔎 Researchers at Lumen Technology’s Black Lotus Labs say the SystemBC proxy botnet actively targets commercial VPS instances worldwide to build a high-capacity proxy network. The operation averages about 1,500 bots daily, relies on more than 80 C2 servers, and primarily exploits unpatched systems that often contain dozens of vulnerabilities. Customers and operators exhibit poor operational security, and the service is used by ransomware groups and third-party proxy resellers.

🔒 Akamai researchers reported a June–August 2025 variant that no longer drops a cryptominer but instead leverages exposed Docker APIs to gain persistent host access. The campaign launches lightweight containers that mount the host filesystem and fetch Base64-encoded scripts over Tor to install tools such as curl and tor. Once inside, the malware appends SSH keys, creates cron jobs, and attempts to modify firewall rules to deny others access to port 2375. Akamai also observed dormant logic to probe Telnet and Chrome remote debugging (9222), suggesting future botnet expansion.

🚨 A European DDoS mitigation provider was hit by a massive packet-rate flood that peaked at 1.5 billion packets per second. FastNetMon detected the assault, which originated from thousands of compromised customer premises devices, including IoT units and MikroTik routers across more than 11,000 networks. The malicious traffic was primarily a UDP flood and was mitigated in real time using the customer's scrubbing facility, ACLs on edge routers, and packet inspection. FastNetMon warned this trend requires ISP-level filtering to prevent large-scale abuse of consumer hardware.

🔒 Security researchers uncovered a variant of a campaign that abuses the TOR network and exposed Docker APIs to deploy cryptojacking and reconnaissance tooling. Akamai, which identified the activity last month, says attackers create Alpine containers, mount the host filesystem, and execute a Base64 payload that downloads a shell script from a .onion domain. The downloader alters SSH for persistence and installs utilities like masscan, torsocks and zstd while a Go-based dropper and compressed binary enable scanning and propagation.

🔎 Security researchers observed a large surge in network scans probing Cisco ASA login portals and Cisco IOS Telnet/SSH endpoints, with GreyNoise recording two major spikes in late August 2025. The second wave on August 26, 2025, was largely (about 80%) driven by a Brazilian botnet using roughly 17,000 IPs and overlapping Chrome-like user agents that suggest a common origin. Administrators are urged to apply the latest patches, enforce MFA for remote ASA logins, avoid exposing management pages and services directly, and use VPN concentrators, reverse proxies, geo-blocking, and rate limiting to reduce risk.

🔌The article profiles DSLRoot, a long-running residential proxy operator that pays U.S. residents to host laptops and mobile devices and then leases those IPs as dedicated proxies. It traces the service's origins on underground forums and links multiple aliases, domains and registration records to a small network operator. The piece highlights technical risks, including vendor-targeted exploits, remote device control and WiFi enumeration, and warns of potential misuse by nation-state actors and criminal groups.

🛡️ Cybersecurity teams report coordinated campaigns exploiting exposed infrastructure and known flaws to monetize or weaponize compromised devices. Attackers have abused CVE-2024-36401 in GeoServer to drop lightweight Dart binaries that monetize bandwidth via legitimate passive-income services, while the PolarEdge botnet and Mirai-derived gayfemboy expand relay and DDoS capabilities across consumer and enterprise devices. Separately, TA-NATALSTATUS targets unauthenticated Redis instances to install stealthy cryptominers and persistence tooling.

🛡️ FortiGuard Labs reports the resurgence of a Mirai-derived IoT malware family, publicly known as “Gayfemboy,” which reappeared in July 2025 targeting vulnerabilities in DrayTek, TP-Link, Raisecom, and Cisco devices. The campaign delivers UPX-packed payloads via predictable downloader scripts named for product families and uses a modified UPX header and architecture-specific filenames to evade detection. At runtime the malware enumerates processes, kills competitors, implements DDoS and backdoor modules, and resolves C2 domains through public DNS resolvers to bypass local filtering. FortiGuard provides AV detections, IPS signatures, and web-filtering blocks; organizations should patch and apply network defenses immediately.