pestdesert66

p>Minecraft link to net's biggest botnet

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p>20 January 2017

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p>According to those who looked into it the malware that launched the largest cyber-attack to hit the net in its history included links to Minecraft servers.

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p>Security blogger Brian Krebs has spent months studying the attack that knocked his blog down.

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p>He claims that the origins for the Mirai botnet can been traced back to rivalries within the Minecraft community.

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p>His claims are confirmed by an expert in security, who provided security on the net for Minecraft servers.

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p>Robert Coelho (Vice President of Security Firm ProxyPipe?) told the BBC that his suspicions about the Mirai code were relayed to the FBI who are "actively investigating" them.

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p>The botnet Mirai consisted of more than 500,000 web-connected devices, including routers and webcams.

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p>The attacks it unleashed such as denial-of service (DDoS) attacks that hit websites with so much data they fall over was the biggest that the net had ever experienced.

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p>Reddit, Spotify, and Twitter were among the victims.

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p>"Hundreds of hours"

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p>Shortly after the attacks, the person who claimed the responsibility, using the codename Anna Senpai, released the source code online, opening the way to copies of the attacks.

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p>A modified version of the malware was later used to attack UK internet service providers TalkTalk? and the Post Office.

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p>Since being struck by the Mirai botnet in September 2016, Mr Krebs has devoted "hundreds of hours" in identifying who was behind it.

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p>"If you've ever wondered why it appears that so few internet criminals are prosecuted I can tell you that the sheer amount of determination and investigative resources required to piece together who's done what to whom (and the reasons behind it) in the digital age is staggering," he wrote.

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p>His research led him to Minecraft which is a computer program that is now owned by Microsoft that allows users to build things using cubic blocks. https://www.click4r.com/posts/g/5982170/grand-theft-auto-online-launch-problem-with-servers </p>

p>It is loved by many, especially children, and it is estimated that one million people enjoy it at any given time.

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p>According to Mr Krebs, a large successful Minecraft web server with more than 1,000 users who log on daily can earn up to $50,000 (PS40,600) per month, mostly from players who rent space to build their Minecraft worlds.

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p>"The first clues to Anna Senpai's identity weren't evident until I realized that Mirai was just the latest version of an IoT [internet of things] botnet family that has been in development and in broad use for nearly three years," he writes.

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p>He claims that the code used in older versions was used to take down servers hosting Minecraft.

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p>ProxyPipe? owned by Mr. Coelho was a client of many Minecraft servers as clients. In the middle of 2015, ProxyPipe? was hit by a massive attack launched from a botnet of IoT devices like web cameras.

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p>Mr Coelho said to the BBC that he had his suspicions about who was behind the attack: "Minecraft is a tight knit community. We know who is talking.

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p>He alleged that the attack originated from an alternative security company, that also provided DDoS protection to Minecraft clients. https://pastelink.net/ofs24rpe </p>

p>He claimed that the person who founded the security company had previously operated the Minecraft web server and was among his clients.

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p>He claims that Anna Senpai, the Mirai author was in contact with him via Skype at September's end to explain that the attack against his company was "not personal" however, she also wanted to brag about how he was paid by owners of a large Minecraft server for launching an attack on a competitor server.

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p>What is a DDoS attack?

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p>7 March 2016

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p>'Smart' devices used in internet attack

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p>22 October 2016

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