Forest Global Training Partners

Cyber Risks · Krebs on Security

Microsoft Uses Trademark Law to Disrupt Trickbot Botnet

Summary: Microsoft obtained a court order from the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia on October 6 granting it control over many Internet servers used by the Trickbot botnet, arguing the malware abused Microsoft and Windows trademarks by altering Windows systems that still bear those marks. The action followed a roughly 10-day U.S. Cyber Command operation that sent infected systems a command to disconnect from Trickbot controllers and stuffed millions of bogus victim records into the botnet's database, but Intel 471 reported no significant impact on Trickbot's infrastructure, and Feodo Tracker still listed live control servers at publication.

Why it matters: Trickbot has been used to steal passwords from millions of infected computers and reportedly to hijack access to well more than 250 million email accounts, and its associated Ryuk/Conti ransomware forced Universal Health Services to shut down systems across more than 400 facilities on Sept. 27, causing hospitals to redirect ambulances and relocate surgery patients.

Read the original at Krebs on Security ↗

Topics
Malware
Related