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Earlier this year, The New New Internet reported that Microsoft used a combination of court actions and technical prowess to disrupt the Waledac botnet. According to program manager Jeff Williams, the take-down “effectively decimated” the botnet, severing communications between around 90,000 infected computers and the control servers.
“While it is still too early to know the entire scope of this particular takedown’s impact, early returns show that Operation b49 has been delivering on the disruption of Waledac and helping to map new territory in the fight against botnets,” he wrote.
Microsoft’s and other firms’ research “indicate that our actions have effectively decimated communications within the Waledac bot network,” Williams wrote.
While he cautioned that security professionals should not yet declare victory, Williams does feel that the operation, dubbed “Operation b49,” can serve as a guide for future take-downs.
“These and other findings demonstrate what, for us, is perhaps the most critical outcome of this case: proof of concept. As we forge ahead with Project MARS, we“™ll be looking to the lessons of Operation b49 as successful signposts along the road in this uncharted territory,” Williams wrote. “While no one action will wipe out every threat, any strong action to disable a botnet is significant progress and each action will inform the next.”
You can read Willaims’ full blog post here
