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How the FBI took down the notorious Qakbot botnet
Podcast summary created with Snipd AI
Quick takeaways
- The FBI successfully took down the Quackbot botnet, which facilitated over 40 ransomware attacks and generated $58 million in ransom payments.
- The FBI gained control of the botnet's network traffic, allowing them to free infected devices and prevent further malware installations.
Deep dives
Dismantling of Quackbot Botnet
In a global law enforcement operation known as Operation Duck Hunt, the FBI and its international partners successfully took down the Quackbot Botnet. Quackbot is a banking Trojan that has facilitated over 40 ransomware attacks, generating $58 million in ransom payments. The operation involved seizing Quackbot's infrastructure located in the United States and Europe. Alongside the takedown, the US Department of Justice announced the seizure of $8.6 million in cryptocurrency from the Quackbot cyber criminal organization, which will be given to the victims. The FBI gained control of the botnet's network traffic, allowing them to instruct Quackbot-infected devices worldwide to download an FBI-built uninstaller, freeing them from the botnet and preventing further malware installations.
