A botnet is a chain of computers connected through the internet and infected by malware that allows hackers to control the computers through cyber crimes. Cybercriminals use connected computers or the botnet to carry out malicious activities such as credential leaks, unauthorized access, and data theft. Through botnet, criminals get access to thousands of computers at one time and command them to carry out criminal activities.The criminals attack these computers and infect them with viruses before implementing the command to enable them to carry out criminal activities on a large scale. You have to understand these activities and ask yourself, “what are botnet attacks’’ and how can you prevent them? Some of the criminal activities that these criminals perform include but not limited to the following:
• Credential stuffing validates lists of stolen credentials allowing access to other people’s accounts, leading to account takeovers.
• Illegal access to a device and its connection to a network
• Data theft through web applications
• Distributed denial of service that causes unplanned application downtime
A botnet is a means of infecting internet-connected devices and using them to cause the problems mentioned earlier to various accounts. Botnets are also evolving, making it difficult to eradicate them. However, there are several things you can do to keep cybercriminals away.
The criminals also work by selling access to the botnet networks known as the Zombie network to allow other criminals to access the computers for more malicious activities such as activating a spam campaign. If you are a business owner, it will be crucial to protect your business website to maintain your brand's reputation.
It is also essential to understand that botnet is nothing else other than a collection of computers connected through the internet under the control and command of the botnet owner. That means botnets can be used by criminals to launch various attacks. That is why you may have different types of botnet crimes needing different methods to mitigate the crimes. Here are different ways you can use to detect and prevent botnet attacks on your website.
1. Network Compartmentalization
One way of increasing your access control is by having secure external and internal network communications. Compartmentalization of your network will help put up access controls to limit internal communication. It also monitors tracks of expected connections and highlights the presence of any cyber attack. When you limit broad access to internal machines, you will stop the spread of botnets.
2. Use VPN with a Termination Control
AVPN allows access to confidential information through an unrestricted net. You must ensure your VPN provider has a termination switch to protect the private data. By protecting VPN, the criminals will not be able to transfer data to an unsecured connection. It is an important thing to ensure all computers have the VPN with proper protection.
3. Set More Security Layers
The security of your business is critical, and you must do everything to ensure cybersecurity, as any cyber threats can ruin your business. That is why it is crucial to set up a defensive tool against bad bots. Though the tool may be expensive, it is not the same as having your reputation ruined by cyber attacks.
The defensive tools help prevent data from being stolen from your computer and sending it to other bots for malicious activities. It is essential to get a Certified Ethical Hacker Master, ensuring that you become a valuable asset to the organization. It is an essential skill that helps you learn about many types of cyberattacks and prevent them.
4. A Dedicated Structure to Prevent False Emails
Various businesses suffer from cyber crimes through fake emails. The criminals use fake emails to trick businesses that depend mostly on emails to do their business. Such businesses are the main target when it comes to fraudulent email activities.
Fraudulent emails can make you lose a substantial amount of money, and that is why it is crucial to ensure you keep them from attacking your business. The best way is to use defensive gateway web tools.
5. Use PC Firewall
Window firewall is one of the most effective defensive tools for protecting your website from criminal activities on the network. But, it is good to disable the firewall to improve the connection speed. It is good for firms to consider using other protection measures to improve their security. But they must not do away with firewalls as they offer effective protection on networks.
6. A Good Plan of a Secure Baseline Strategy against BEC Attacks
Several businesses use emails without paying a lot of attention to them. All the staff must be aware of the possible cyber-attacks and report any suspicious emails before opening them. At the same time, it is reasonable to compel all employees to protect their login credentials by using strong passwords. It would also help when all the employees know the different cyber threats and how to prevent them.
7. Separate the Devices and Domain
Local account administrators should distinguish the devices and the domains. It is important to separate the two and avoid auto-connections. Proper control of local accounts is one of the effective ways of eradicating botnet attacks. Therefore, it is essential to make sure the local administrator can change the ability to auto-connect the computers among other access controls.
8. Manual Software Installation
It is a good practice for organizations to disable automatic installations. By disallowing the “Autorun,” organizations can prevent the launch of unnecessary commands. That can go a long way in determining the safety of your information.
Cybercriminals use different ways to gain access to your computer to get access sensitive information. Though it is not very easy to stop botnet attacks, knowing ways to prevent them will go a long way in enhancing the security of your data. Security professionals are the first line of defense when it comes to cybersecurity. However, you can secure your organization more if you add another powerful second line of defense.
One of the most effective ways is to have employees aware of cybercrimes and different ways of protecting the information they use every day. It is also essential to employ professionals and train all the staff on cybersecurity threats to become cautious of their actions.
