Akbot
Encyclopedia
Akbot is the name of a computer virus
that added about 1.3 million computers to a botnet
network.
server to crash after the botmaster conspired with a student there to launch a DDOS attack on several IRC servers and a security forum called ssgroup.org.
("AKILL"), was caught during an international investigation, Operation: Bot Roast
, during which his home was raided by New Zealand police and an FBI agent. He was charged in April 2008, but not convicted because the court did not believe his motives to be criminal.
Computer virus
A computer virus is a computer program that can replicate itself and spread from one computer to another. The term "virus" is also commonly but erroneously used to refer to other types of malware, including but not limited to adware and spyware programs that do not have the reproductive ability...
that added about 1.3 million computers to a botnet
Botnet
A botnet is a collection of compromised computers connected to the Internet. Termed "bots," they are generally used for malicious purposes. When a computer becomes compromised, it becomes a part of a botnet...
network.
Infection
Akbot is an IRC controlled backdoor program. It allows an outside user to take control of the infected computer. Akbot operates by joining IRC servers and the waiting for further instructions. Once installed, Akbot can be used to gather data, kill processes, or perform DDOS attacks. The size of the botnet is unknown, but it is believed to be large enough to cause a University of PennsylvaniaUniversity of Pennsylvania
The University of Pennsylvania is a private, Ivy League university located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States. Penn is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States,Penn is the fourth-oldest using the founding dates claimed by each institution...
server to crash after the botmaster conspired with a student there to launch a DDOS attack on several IRC servers and a security forum called ssgroup.org.
Source
The author, 18 year old New Zealand based botmaster, Owen WalkerOwen Walker
Owen Thor Walker is a computer hacker living in New Zealand, who was discharged without conviction despite pleading guilty to several charges of 'cybercrime'...
("AKILL"), was caught during an international investigation, Operation: Bot Roast
Operation: Bot Roast
Operation: Bot Roast is an operation by the FBI to track down bot herders, crackers, or virus coders who install malicious software on computers through the Internet without the owners’ knowledge, which turns the computer into a zombie computer that then sends out spam to other computers from the...
, during which his home was raided by New Zealand police and an FBI agent. He was charged in April 2008, but not convicted because the court did not believe his motives to be criminal.