3 Plead Guilty in Mirai Botnet-Related Charges

3 Plead Guilty in Mirai Botnet-Related Charges

Three defendants have pleaded guilty to charges involving the Mirai botnet that was used to knock out several major websites last year, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday.

Three defendants have pleaded guilty to charges involving the Mirai botnet that was used to knock out several major websites last year, according to court documents unsealed on Tuesday. The Mirai botnet, a system of hacked internet-connected devices, was used in distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks on several major websites last year.

The Justice Department charged Paras Jha, Josiah White and Dalton Normal with building and renting out the Mirai botnet, a system of more than 300,000 hacked devices used to flood other websites with junk online traffic. The three men were not charged in connection to the attack that knocked out several major websites last year, but Jha did admit to participating in selling access to the Mirai botnet for others to use in attacks and to promoting it on criminal web forums.

Mirai generated traffic for DDoS attacks by creating networks of infected internet-connected devices and having them all contact a website at the same time. These large floods of traffic overwhelmed victims’ servers, crashing or at least severely slowing their websites.

The botnet served as a platform for hacking these devices. Researchers have determined that it infected nearly 65,000 devices in its first 20 hours and doubled in size every 76 minutes to ultimately build a sustained strength of between 200,000 and 300,000 devices, including routers and security cameras.

The networks built by Mirai were so large they broke several size records for DDoS attacks. One of its largest attacks took place on Oct. 21, 2016, when Mirai was used in a DDoS attack on the online technology provided Dyn, interrupting service to many sites – including Twitter, Etsy, Netflix and Reddit.

None of the men has been sentenced. The federal indictments were unsealed in federal court in Alaska.

About the Author

Jessica Davis is the Associate Content Editor for 1105 Media.

Featured

  • Video Surveillance Trends to Watch

    With more organizations adding newer capabilities to their surveillance systems, it’s always important to remember the “basics” of system configuration and deployment, as well as the topline benefits of continually emerging technologies like AI and the cloud. Read Now

  • New Report Reveals Top Trends Transforming Access Controller Technology

    Mercury Security, a provider in access control hardware and open platform solutions, has published its Trends in Access Controllers Report, based on a survey of over 450 security professionals across North America and Europe. The findings highlight the controller’s vital role in a physical access control system (PACS), where the device not only enforces access policies but also connects with readers to verify user credentials—ranging from ID badges to biometrics and mobile identities. With 72% of respondents identifying the controller as a critical or important factor in PACS design, the report underscores how the choice of controller platform has become a strategic decision for today’s security leaders. Read Now

  • Overwhelming Majority of CISOs Anticipate Surge in Cyber Attacks Over the Next Three Years

    An overwhelming 98% of chief information security officers (CISOs) expect a surge in cyber attacks over the next three years as organizations face an increasingly complex and artificial intelligence (AI)-driven digital threat landscape. This is according to new research conducted among 300 CISOs, chief information officers (CIOs), and senior IT professionals by CSC1, the leading provider of enterprise-class domain and domain name system (DNS) security. Read Now

  • ASIS International Introduces New ANSI-Approved Investigations Standard

    • Guard Services
  • Cloud Security Alliance Brings AI-Assisted Auditing to Cloud Computing

    The Cloud Security Alliance (CSA), the world’s leading organization dedicated to defining standards, certifications, and best practices to help ensure a secure cloud computing environment, today introduced an innovative addition to its suite of Security, Trust, Assurance and Risk (STAR) Registry assessments with the launch of Valid-AI-ted, an AI-powered, automated validation system. The new tool provides an automated quality check of assurance information of STAR Level 1 self-assessments using state-of-the-art LLM technology. Read Now

New Products

  • AC Nio

    AC Nio

    Aiphone, a leading international manufacturer of intercom, access control, and emergency communication products, has introduced the AC Nio, its access control management software, an important addition to its new line of access control solutions.

  • Compact IP Video Intercom

    Viking’s X-205 Series of intercoms provide HD IP video and two-way voice communication - all wrapped up in an attractive compact chassis.

  • 4K Video Decoder

    3xLOGIC’s VH-DECODER-4K is perfect for use in organizations of all sizes in diverse vertical sectors such as retail, leisure and hospitality, education and commercial premises.