Instead of sending spam or dangerous codes in large quantities, those controlling botnets are beginning to spread their activities at a slower pace to avoid detection by security systems in businesses.
Security software company BlackSpider (UK) reports that a large botnet is responsible for spreading 50 million spam emails daily, impacting at least 150,000 IP addresses. The use of a large number of computers—each disseminating an average of 330 promotional emails per day and approximately 40 emails per hour throughout a day’s operation—represents a significant shift from previous methods where only a few compromised email servers were used for mass spam distribution.
James Kay, the Chief Technology Officer of BlackSpider, believes that this level of dissemination is lower than before, indicating that compromised PC users will not notice any impact while connected. Consequently, spammers reduce the risk of being detected. “Hackers have realized that ‘launching’ a smaller volume of viruses allows them to better conceal their activities from intrusion detection tools. This actually has the potential to cause long-term hazards and greater severity,” Kay assesses, adding that software packages like those from Send-safe.com are used by spammers to control multiple broadband-connected computers for spam dissemination. Most of these PCs are infected with various types of viruses such as SoBig.
P.K
