Microsoft and Symantec Take Down Bamital Botnet

[Corrine]

Exciting news announced today that the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit, in collaboration with Symantec, took down the Bamital botnet! Operation b58, as it is called, is the sixth botnet disruption in three years by Microsoft. It is part of Microsoft's Project MARS – Microsoft Active Response for Security

The botnet would hijack search results resulting in ending up on potentially dangerous websites that could install malware on the computer, steal personal information, or fraudulently charge businesses for online advertisement clicks.

Microsoft and Symantec’s research shows that in the last two years, more than eight million computers have been attacked by Bamital, and that the botnet’s search hijacking and click fraud schemes affected many major search engines and browsers, including those offered by Microsoft, Yahoo and Google. Because this threat exploited the search and online advertising platform to harm innocent people, Microsoft and Symantec chose to take action against the Bamital botnet to help protect people and advance cloud security for everyone.

More at Microsoft and Symantec Take Down Bamital Botnet That Hijacks Online Searches

 

[JMH]

Microsoft, Symantec take down Bamital click-fraud botnet

The botnet infected as many as 8 million computers over the past two years, the companies said

Microsoft and Symantec have dismantled a botnet that took over millions of computers for criminal activities such as identity theft and click fraud.

The Bamital botnet threatened the US$12.7 billion online advertising industry by generating fraudulent clicks on Internet ads, which fund many of the free online services available to consumers, the companies said.

As many as 8 million computers were infected with Bamital over the past two years, wrote Richard Domingues Boscovich, assistant general counsel for Microsoft's Digital Crimes Unit, in a blog post Wednesday.

Microsoft, Symantec take down Bamital click-fraud botnet | ITworld