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Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Microsoft Ambushes Waledac Botnet, Shutters Whistleblower Site

Summary: A federal judge in Virginia granted Microsoft's quietly filed request to disconnect 277 Internet domains tied to the Waledac botnet, which was estimated among the ten largest spam botnets and sent 1.5 billion junk emails per day. Separately, Microsoft alleged copyright infringement against Cryptome.org curator John Young after he posted its 'Global Criminal Compliance Handbook,' and hosting provider Network Solutions shut the site down, though Microsoft later withdrew the complaint.

Key Takeaway: Microsoft said the operation cut off command-and-control traffic to most of Waledac's thousands of zombie machines but did not clean the infected computers, which remain infected with the original malware. The same week, a compliance document describing what Microsoft makes available to law enforcement about users, including Xbox Live, was pulled from one site and reappeared on Wikileaks and Wired.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Data Breaches
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