Darknet Diaries 110: Spam Botnets
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Feb 8, 2022 Explore the dark world of spam botnets like Rustock, Waledac, and Cutwail. Uncover how they were built and the motivations behind their creators. Discover the shocking connections between spammers and counterfeit online pharmacies. Delve into the sophisticated mechanics of email spoofing and the relentless efforts by law enforcement to dismantle these cybercriminal networks. Learn about the ongoing challenges in combating spam and the risks associated with rogue online services that threaten users' safety.
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Cutwail
- Google, with Igor Vishnevsky's help, built the Cutwail botnet.
- It used a Trojan called PushDo to infect Windows computers.
Cutwail's Growth
- Cutwail botnet rapidly grew, exceeding one million infected computers.
- At its peak, it sent 51 million spam emails per minute, totaling 74 billion daily.
McColo Incident
- A car accident in Moscow killed Nikolai Mikolo, owner of McColo Corp, a hosting provider favored by spammers.
- His death raised concerns about the future of spam botnet hosting.