427 Botnet fm qxd

The History of Shadowserver
Of the different organizations that provide information on botnets and
deal with security on the Internet, Shadowserver has one of the most
interesting histories. Shadowserver began in 2004, as the result of a per-
sonal tragedy compounded by the victimization of online criminals.
Shortly after Nicolas Albright’s father committed suicide, he noticed that
his father’s computer was being used by botnets as part of a distributed
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network to store pirated software and movies. After shutting down the
network of botnets by getting the criminal’s Internet access removed, he
proceeded in gathering volunteers to assist in combating the growing
increase of botnets that are used for malicious purposes. The intelligence
they acquire is used to disseminate information to security professionals,
report criminal activity to law enforcement, and assist in shutting down
and prosecuting those who use these tools for illegal purposes.
Other Web Sites Providing Information
While the Internet is filled with information on a variety of security-related
topics, a number of sites have repeatedly been useful for gathering intelligence
on botnets. Some of these include:
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Blackflag
(http://blackflag.wordpress.com) Information and articles
on botnets, hacking tools, malware, and other potential threats and
tools.
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Bleeding Edge Threats
(www.bleedingthreats.net) Virus signatures
available for download, mailing lists, feeds, and other features to their
site that are useful in intelligence gathering.
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Securiteam
(www.securiteam.com) A security Web site owned and
maintained by Beyond Security (www.beyondsecurity.com) and pro-
vides a wide variety of information on security-related topics, inclu-
sive to known exploits, tools for download, news, reviews and other
features like the ability to submit questions to a security expert.
Mailing Lists and Discussion Groups
There are also a number of mailing lists, in which information can be sent to
you via e-mail on a regular basis, and message groups that allow you to post
and view messages online. Some of these are mentioned in previous discus-
sions of sites and what they offer, but the following are mailing lists and dis-
cussion groups you can join to discuss security issues and ask questions:
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