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FBI Finds 1 Million PC’s Have Been Hijacked

By Mark Huffman
ConsumerAffairs.com

June 15, 2007 

The bureau says its investigation of so called “botnets,” or remotely controlled computers, has identified the IP addresses of the victims.

Compounding the problem is the fact that victims are usually unaware that their computer has been taken over, so they take no action.

The FBI says it’s working with its industry partners, including the CERT Coordination Center at Carnegie Mellon University, to notify the victim owners of the computers. Through this process, the FBI hopes to uncover additional incidents in which botnets have been used to facilitate other criminal activity.

A botnet is a collection of compromised computers under the remote command and control of a criminal “botherder.” Most owners of the compromised computers are unknowing and unwitting victims.

They have unintentionally allowed unauthorized access and use of their computers as a vehicle to facilitate other crimes, such as identity theft, denial of service attacks, phishing, click fraud, and the mass distribution of spam and spyware.

Because of their widely distributed capabilities, the government considers botnets a growing threat to national security, the national information infrastructure, and the economy.

“The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been compromised or their personal information exploited,” said FBI Assistant Director for the Cyber Division James Finch.

“An attacker gains control by infecting the computer with a virus or other malicious code and the computer continues to operate normally. Citizens can protect themselves from botnets and the associated schemes by practicing strong computer security habits to reduce the risk that your computer will be compromised.”

Cyber security tips include updating anti‑virus software, installing a firewall, using strong passwords, practicing good email and web security practices. Although this will not necessarily identify or remove a botnet currently on the system, this can help to prevent future botnet attacks.

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