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The United States Justice Department announced on Thursday that it had joined forces with authorities in Germany and Canada to dismantle key infrastructure linked to four large-scale botnets that had compromised more than three million devices worldwide, including a significant number in the United States.
The botnets — identified as Aisuru, KimWolf, JackSkid and Mossad — were primarily used to carry out distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks. According to officials, some of these cyberattacks targeted systems connected to the Department of Defense.
Investigators revealed that many of the affected devices were part of the Internet of Things (IoT), including everyday connected gadgets such as webcams, routers and digital video recorders. These compromised devices were used collectively to launch hundreds of thousands of attacks against servers and networks across the globe. In certain instances, those behind the attacks also attempted to extort money from victims.
Kenneth DeChellis of the Department of Defense Investigative Service said the operation demonstrates a strong commitment to countering cyber threats that pose risks to national security and military operations.
The coordinated crackdown took place simultaneously across the three countries and focused on identifying and disrupting individuals responsible for running the botnets.
Authorities also acknowledged the support of nearly two dozen major technology companies in the effort, including Amazon Web Services, Google, PayPal and Nokia. The operation further involved Europol’s PowerOff initiative, a long-running campaign launched in 2017 to combat cybercrime related to DDoS attacks.
