ITPEC FE Morning April 2019 Question 42

Botnet — a network of malware-infected devices remotely controlled by an attacker

A botnet (robot network) is a collection of internet-connected devices — computers, IoT devices, routers, cameras — that have been infected with malware and are controlled by an attacker via a C&C (Command and Control) server. Botnets are used for DDoS attacks, spam distribution, credential stuffing, and cryptocurrency mining.

The correct answer is a): a collection of internet-connected devices, including IoT devices, infected and controlled by a common type of malware.

Why not the others:
- b) Describes a V2X (vehicle-to-everything) communication network — a legitimate technology, not malicious
- c) Describes a honeynet — a set of honeypots used by defenders to detect and study attacker behavior
- d) Describes an Industrial IoT (IIoT) network for collaborative manufacturing — a legitimate factory automation concept

Key rule: The defining feature of a botnet is that devices are infected and remotely controlled without the owner's knowledge. Any "network of devices" without the malware/control element is not a botnet.

AI-generated — may contain errors