Introduction
Cybercriminals often use networks of infected devices to launch attacks at scale. These networks are called botnets, and they remain among the most common and dangerous threats online. According to CISA, botnets can disrupt services, steal data, and spread malware worldwide. Understanding what is a botnet is essential for developers and security teams because these attacks can cause severe damage. Consequently, learning how botnets operate helps you build defenses before they strike.
Definition:
What Is a Botnet?
#A botnet is a group of devices—computers, servers, IoT gadgets, or even mobile phones, that have been infected with malware and are controlled by a remote attacker. Simply put, what is a botnet? It is a collection of “bots” working together under the command of a hacker, usually without the device owners’ knowledge. Botnets can be small with just a few hundred machines, or massive, including millions of compromised systems worldwide.
What Is a Botnet in Cyber Security?
In cyber security, a botnet acts both as an attack tool and as a persistent threat. Unlike a single piece of malware, these networks connect thousands or even millions of devices to launch coordinated campaigns.
- Scale: Attackers can grow them to a global size, gaining overwhelming power.
- Stealth: They hide processes in the background, which makes detection difficult.
- Flexibility: Criminals update the malware remotely to trigger new attacks.
This type of thread is more than a cluster of infected machines. A botnet functions as an infrastructure that criminals rent, sell, and exploit to steal data, disrupt services, or deliver malware.that criminals rent, sell, and use for operations like data theft, denial-of-service, or malware delivery.
What Is a Botnet Attack? #
A botnet attack occurs when an attacker activates the infected devices in the network to carry out malicious actions. For example, attackers may:
- Launch DDoS campaigns that flood websites or APIs with massive traffic.
- Spread new malware to other systems to expand control.
- Steal sensitive data such as credentials, banking details, or API keys.
- Send spam or fake traffic to disrupt online services.
In short, attackers rely on automation and scale. By combining thousands of compromised machines, they turn a botnet attack into a powerful and coordinated weapon.
Key Characteristics of Botnets #
Several traits make botnets especially dangerous:
Stealth and persistence – These threats often hide in background processes and update themselves to stay active.
Data theft – Infected devices capture sensitive information like logins and financial records.
Command and Control (C2) – Attackers direct the network through a central server or peer-to-peer system.
Automation at scale – They run repetitive tasks such as scanning for vulnerabilities or delivering malware to thousands of devices at once.
DDoS power – Large networks overwhelm targets with traffic, causing downtime and service disruption.
How to Prevent Botnet Attacks
Preventing these type of attacks requires both proactive defenses and continuous monitoring. Developers and security teams should:
- Patch and update systems regularly to close vulnerabilities before attackers exploit them.
- Scan dependencies and open-source packages to block hidden malware at the supply chain level.
- Use strong authentication so attackers cannot abuse stolen credentials.
- Monitor traffic and anomalies such as unusual spikes or unauthorized processes, which often reveal a botnet infection.
How Xygeni Helps
Xygeni strengthens defenses against botnet attacks by securing the software supply chain, where malicious code often enters. For example, it scans code, containers, and dependencies for malware that could compromise applications. In addition, its anomaly detection highlights suspicious behavior in CI/CD pipelines, such as traffic surges, unauthorized processes, or tampered artifacts. As a result, developers can act early and prevent their systems from joining a botnet or becoming a target.
