Gucci Botnet
The Gucci botnet is a recently uncovered botnet, which targets IoT (Internet-of-Things) devices mainly. Cybercriminals have a growing interest in compromising IoT devices as more and more of our gadgets become ‘smart’ and connect to the Internet. However, this is not the sole reason there is a boom in targeting IoT machines. More often than not, IoT devices are very vulnerable to infiltration as their producers do not appear to put too much effort into securing them against cyber attacks.
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Compatible with Some Laptops and Desktop Computers
It is important to note that the Gucci botnet does not go after IoT devices only. After studying the threat, experts discovered that the authors of the Gucci malware had employed binaries, which also are compatible with x86 architecture that is typical for desktop computers and laptops. The server, which hosts the executables linked with the Gucci botnet, appears to be situated in the Netherlands.
Malware Researchers Compromised the Gucci Botnet Backend
Upon further studying the case of the Gucci botnet, cybersecurity researchers managed to locate the C&C (Command & Control) server of the attackers. The cybercriminals had made sure that nobody can enter the server unless they have legitimate login credentials. However, this safety measure was not enough as malware experts managed to infiltrate their server by using a brute-force technique to ‘guess’ the login credentials, which gave them full access to the attackers’ system.
The Gucci Botnet Moved to Unknown Server
However, soon after malware researchers managed to compromise the backend of the Gucci botnet, its operators made sure to secure their operation and halted the cybersecurity campaign launched against them. Currently, it is not known what server is the Gucci botnet hosted on, but it is clear that it is still active and operational.
Used for Mass DDoS Campaigns
The operators of the Gucci botnet seem to use it to launch large-scale DDoS (Distributed-Denial-of-Service) attacks mainly. These attacks appear to target various services, servers and whole networks of systems. The Gucci botnet is able to execute a large list of DDoS techniques making it easier for the attackers to cause more harm and making it less likely for their victims to be able to protect themselves in any meaningful way.
If you have any IoT devices in your household, do not neglect to update their software as outdated software often leads to vulnerabilities and your devices may become a part of a botnet used in massive DDoS operations often targeting innocent users.
