November 3, 2023 at 09:42AM
The Mozi botnet experienced a significant decrease in activity in August 2023, attributed to the distribution of a kill switch to the bots. This kill switch stripped the bots of functionality but allowed them to maintain persistence. The decline in activity is believed to be a deliberate and calculated takedown, potentially initiated by the original Mozi botnet creator or Chinese law enforcement.
Key Takeaways from Meeting Notes:
– The decline in Mozi botnet activity in August 2023 was a result of a kill switch being distributed to the bots.
– The kill switch stripped Mozi bots of most functionality but allowed them to maintain persistence.
– Mozi is an IoT botnet that exploits weak passwords and unpatched vulnerabilities for access.
– The decline in activity was attributed to an unknown actor transmitting a command to download and install an update that neutralized the malware.
– The kill switch demonstrated the ability to terminate the malware’s process, disable system services, and replace Mozi with itself.
– The kill switch showed similarities with the botnet’s original source code and was signed with the correct private key used by the original Mozi operators.
– The takedown of Mozi could have been initiated by either the original botnet creator or Chinese law enforcement, possibly with the cooperation or forced involvement of the original actors.
– The targeting of India and then China suggests a deliberate and sequential takedown strategy.
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