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- “Botnets in the Cloud: Modern Infrastructure, Old Tactics”
“Botnets in the Cloud: Modern Infrastructure, Old Tactics”
In partnership with
Media Leaders on AI: Insights from Disney, ESPN, Forrester Research
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Cloud Resources Are Rented by Attackers Too
Botnet operators spin up virtual machines on compromised or stolen accounts. They use your infrastructure to host C2 servers, mine crypto, or launch attacks. It’s fast, cheap, and disposable.
Default Cloud Configs Leave Ports Wide Open
Many cloud services launch with permissive firewall rules, open APIs, and weak keys. Botnets scan for these misconfigs continuously — and when found, they move fast.
Serverless Functions Can Be Hijacked at Scale
Lambda functions and similar services are ideal for bursty botnet logic. Attackers inject scripts that auto-scale across workloads. Security teams rarely monitor ephemeral compute closely.
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Compromised Containers Join the Swarm
Infected Docker images spread rapidly across registries and CI/CD pipelines. Once deployed, these containers beacon out, join C2, and act as bots — all behind your firewall.
Billing Spikes Are Often the First Warning Sign
Cloud botnets quietly drive up CPU, bandwidth, or storage usage. You may not notice the infection — until the bill arrives. Cost anomalies = breach signals.
Cloud Botnets Mask Origin Through Reversibility
Because infrastructure is easy to destroy and rebuild, attackers rotate their hosts constantly. Attribution becomes nearly impossible. The cloud gives botnets resilience by design.
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