Botnets – The Silent Threat on the Internet [PDF]

ENISA is launching its latest Position Paper: on 'botnets', i.e. silent, 'hijacked' computers. The paper identifies roles and structures of criminal organizations for creating and controlling botnets, and trends in this type of cyber crime. In particular, it is often overlooked that browser exploits account already for more than 60% of all infections. Clicking on a malicious link may be enough to get infected. The main problem is uninformed users. Consequently, ENISA calls for an agreement to address this security threat in a more consistent way. The paper also identifies online tools to identify and counter malicious code.

The most common infection methods are browser exploits (65%), email attachments (13%,) operating system exploits (11%), and downloaded Internet files (9%). Currently, the most dangerous infection method is surfing to an infected webpage. Indications of a bot on your computer include e.g.: Slow Internet connection, strange browser behavior (home page change, new windows, unknown plug-ins), disabled anti-virus software; unknown autostart programs etc.