The internet of things (IoT) has created a new domain for botnet developers to compete and thrive in. Already, there they battle one another for devices while their victims contend with persisting infections. But the involvement of a well-known file-sharing technology, peer-to-peer (P2P) networking, into the mix can further complicate matters.
A typical IoT botnet consists of numerous infected devices (bots) connected to a command-and-control (C&C) server from where cybercriminals run the entire botnet. This means that taking down the C&C server incapacitates the botnet, no matter how many devices it is made up of. The introduction of P2P networking into IoT botnets removes this solution.
P2P networking, after all, allows computers to connect to one another without the need for a central server. In practice, this means that to take down a P2P IoT botnet, defenders would have to clean each of the infected devices — a much more tedious and nearly impossible task since the best botnets are known for using thousands of devices.
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Source: Trend Micro