From the perspective of computer security, 2007 was a turbulent year in all spheres, starting with increasing malware infection rates, millions of cases of identity theft, surfacing web browser and system vulnerabilities and, most notably, the surprisingly swift rise of botnets.
Botnets are essentially networks of compromised computers that are used by cybercriminals for such purposes as spreading spam and malicious software, scamming unsuspected users, or attacking large corporations. These hacker tools are still hotly discussed by internet security experts all around the world, as botnets managed to compromise a whopping several millions of computers in just a year. And the environment that helped hackers spread botnet infections throughout the Internet was its most celebrated novelty: Web 2.0.
It was because of the trend of hastily adapting nearly every website to the Web 2.0 standards that left so many systems infiltrated and used for malicious purposes. Most popular web applications, from web browsers to MySpace databases, were targeted, and more often than not, the attacks were successful, resulting in thousands of botnet drones ready to serve their new masters.
Botnets are essentially networks of compromised computers that are used by cybercriminals for such purposes as spreading spam and malicious software, scamming unsuspected users, or attacking large corporations. These hacker tools are still hotly discussed by internet security experts all around the world, as botnets managed to compromise a whopping several millions of computers in just a year. And the environment that helped hackers spread botnet infections throughout the Internet was its most celebrated novelty: Web 2.0.
It was because of the trend of hastily adapting nearly every website to the Web 2.0 standards that left so many systems infiltrated and used for malicious purposes. Most popular web applications, from web browsers to MySpace databases, were targeted, and more often than not, the attacks were successful, resulting in thousands of botnet drones ready to serve their new masters.
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