Botnets have been a very big problem not only to those who they steal from but also to Microsoft.
These are networks of infected Windows PC’s being controlled by criminal gangs in order to steal from online banking accounts and leave you penniless.
The PC manufacturer has teamed up with the US Marshals and two financial services industry trade groups to orchestrate a raid on two Internet hosting companies: continuum Data Centers in Lombard, III., and BurstNet in Scranton, Pa.
Authorities were able to seize two command-and-control servers that they used to instruct the millions of PC’s that are infected and part of the Zeus botnet which is very massive.
The raid was the result of Microsoft’s civil lawsuit which can be considered as under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act. They used the legal means and at the same time cyberforensics since 2010 to shut down these servers.
According to security evangelist ESET Stephen Cobb, “Microsoft has done the online world a great service by establishing a repeatable process and a legal framework for taking down botnets and bringing malware distributors to justice.”
Researcher at Sophos Graham Cluley added, “The last thing Microsoft want is for the prevalence of malware to be a reason for people to purchase their next computer from Apple.”