Notes

Minecraft Link To Net's Biggest Botnet

Minecraft link to the world's largest botnet



Malware that triggered the internet's largest ever cyber-attack last year included links to Minecraft servers, according to those investigating it.



Brian Krebs, security blogger was a long-term investigator of the attack that took his blog offline.



He claims that the origins of the Mirai botnet can be traced back to rivalries within the Minecraft community.



His claims are confirmed by a security expert who offered net security to Minecraft servers.



Robert Coelho, vice president of security firm ProxyPipe Robert Coelho, vice president of security firm ProxyPipe, told BBC that his suspicions about who was behind the Mirai code were passed to the FBI, which is "actively investigating" the claims.



The botnet Mirai was made up of more than 500,000 internet-connected devices like routers and cameras.



The attacks it unleashed known as denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks that hit websites with so much data they collapsed - were the biggest web had ever seen.



The victims who were shut down included Twitter, Spotify and Reddit.



"Hundreds of hours"



Following the attacks, the person who claimed responsibility, using codename Anna Senpai, released the source code online, opening the way to copycat attacks.



Later the malware was modified and the malware was used to attack UK internet service providers TalkTalk or the Post Office.



Krebs spent "hundreds of hours" investigating the Mirai botnet attack in September of 2016.



He wrote "If you've ever wondered why there aren't more cyber criminals are prosecuted Then I can tell that the sheer volume and perseverance required to determine who's done which (and the reasons) online is enormous."



His research led him directly to the community of Minecraft the computer game now owned by Microsoft where players build things from cubic blocks.



It is enjoyed by many, and especially children and is played by more than a million people at any given time.



Mr. Krebs claims that a Minecraft server with over 1,000 users can earn $50,000 per month (PS40,600). This is due to players renting space to create their Minecraft worlds.



"The first clues to Anna Senpai's identity didn't become evident until I realized that Mirai was just the most recent incarnation of an IoT [internet of thingsbotnet family that's been in development and relatively widely used for three years," he writes.



He claims that the code for older versions was used to take down web servers hosting Minecraft.



ProxyPipe - owned by Mr Coelho was a popular provider of Minecraft servers as clients. It in mid-2015, it was attacked by a massive attack that was launched by a botnet made up of IoT devices such as web cameras.



BBC interviewer Mr Coelho said he was suspicious of the attacker and said that "Minecraft is a tight-knit community." We know who is talking to whom."



He alleged that the attack was a result of an unrelated security firm which also provided DDoS protection to Minecraft customers.



He claimed that the founder and client of the security company had previously operated a Minecraft web server.



He claims that Anna Senpai, the Mirai author approached him via Skype at the end of September to explain that the attack against his company was "not personal" however, she also wanted to brag about how he was paid by owners of a huge Minecraft server for launching an attack against a rival server.



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MINECRAFT-SERVERS.SBS
Here's my website: https://minecraft-servers.sbs/