07th Jul 2007
The human cost of botnets
Botnets and “Zombie PCs” - virus-infected computers that are programmed to send out spam mail - are well-known now, but what is less commonly acknowledged is the potential human cost of these machines. According to the FBI, there is a growing problem with vital systems being taken over by botnets to launch spam virus attacks and spam campaigns - and they aim to stop it.
Indeed, recently the bureau charged a man in connection with a botnet attack that left a Chicago hospital’s IT system in turmoil; the zombie virus delayed vital medical services as the PCs were compromised. James C. Brewer of Arlington, Texas was found by law enforcement to be responsible, being linked with the freezing and crashing of key medical computers. Spam filtering software itself could do nothing to prevent it, as this was a spam virus issue; computer instability is an inevitable by-product of machines heavily infected with virii.
As well as being used to spam, these botnet PCs are also sometimes used for DOS (Denial Of Service) attacks and for identity theft purposes. Regular antispam techniques alone cannot stop them; full virus protection is also required. For more details, check out this page: http://www.siouxcityjournal.com/articles/2007/06/14/news_business/local/e9ef36409dc0caf5862572fa0016878a.txt
Glamour Photography
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