Tracker reveals the European 'botspots' powering global cyberattacks. Swarms of internet- connected devices infected with malware have become a popular tool for hackers as their collective power can be used to launch cyberattacks. Known as bot networks – or botnets – they typically include hijacked computers, smartphones or internet of things (Io. T) devices which can be deployed at will to spread malware, generate spam and conduct distributed denial of service (DDo. S) attacks. This week (2.

September), Symantec released an updated botnet tracker, sharing insight into where bots are lurking in the Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA) region. According to the firm, 6.

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Europe made up nearly one- fifth (1. The UK, Symantec said, was Europe's 1. The City of London boasted the majority of the UK's bot infected devices with 3. British bots located there at the time of writing."More than 1. UK were victims of online crime in the past year, and bots and botnets are a key tool in the cyber- attacker's arsenal," said researcher Candid Wueest."It's not just computers that are providing criminals with their robot army; in 2.

Internet of Things (Io. T) devices. In fact, Io. T devices may be part of the uptick in global bot infections in 2.

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Nearly a third (3. Europe alone."Indeed, the cities of Madrid, Istanbul and Moscow had more bots in their cities than the vast majority of nations had in their entire countries, Symantec said. But Russia was home to the largest number of bots in all of Europe, with 1. Europe's bot- infected devices residing there. However, with the largest internet- connected population in Europe, Russia's 'bot density' is comparatively low, experts revealed.'Bot density' or 'bots per connected capita' is a comparison between a country's number of internet users and the volume of bot infections.

It aims to make it clear which countries have a true higher rate of infection. Symantec's UK statistics on botnets. Symantec. With one bot for every 4. Russia was 3. 1st in Europe and 9. This comparatively low infection rate may be influenced to some degree by the codes of conduct of Russia's hacking community, researchers said."Russians infecting Russians is considered a hacking faux pas," Wueest noted."There have been instances in the past of hackers being 'doxxed' or outed to police by the hacking community for the sin of infecting local computers.

Botnets are built from infected computers around the world i. Stock"The number of bot infections isn't typically representative of where cybercriminals live. Infection rates are typically lower in countries where users have better cyber- hygiene and hackers are often the most 'hygienic' or paranoid when it comes to their devices."In comparison, Rome's Holy See, the world's smallest country, had the highest bot density not only in Europe, but globally. Its significantly smaller internet- connected populace meant Vatican users had approximately "a one in five chance of using a 'zombie' device."In most cases, victims caught up in these networks are unwitting participants in crime. For example, bot networks played a key role in the alleged Russian influence campaign during the 2. US presidential election when they were used to amplify divisive messages, circulate conspiracy theories and share pro- Donald Trump talking points. In another case from last year, swarms of Io.

T devices were enslaved into the so- called Mirai botnet and used to takedown websites including Reddit, Twitter and Netflix. Concerned that your device may be enslaved in a bot army? Symantec said that some key warning signs includes if your device starts drastically slowing down, displaying mysterious messages or crashing for no apparent reason. It advised users to keep up- to- date with security updateds and never to click suspicious links.

US sanctions 7 Iranians and a security firm for role in cyberattacks targeting its financial system. The US government sanctioned seven Iranian nationals and a private Iran- based computer security firm over their role in coordinated cyberattacks targeting the US financial system. The US Treasury Department announced the sanctions on Thursday, 1. September on 1. 1 entities and individuals for "engaging in support of designated Iranian actors or malicious cyber- enabled activity" in support of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC). Those sanctioned included private computer security company ITSec Team that allegedly planned and launched distributed denial of service (DDo.

S) attacks against at least nine large US financial institutions, including top banks and stock exchanges, between 2. The Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control said ITSec did work on behalf of the Iranian government during the same time frame as well. The Trump administration also sanctioned three Iranian nationals allegedly linked to ITSec. One individual named Ahmad Fathi supervised and coordinated the company's DDo. S attacks against the finance sector. A computer hacker named Amin Shokohi - who worked for the firm - helped build the botnet used in the DDo. S attacks while Hamid Firoozi, a network manager at ITSec, procured computer servers for the botnet.

The Treasury also announced sanctions on four Iranian nationals working for another private computer security firm called Mersad Co. Mersad has been affiliated with the IRGC.

Collectively, both companies were accused of coordinating DDo. S attacks against 4. US financial sector, between December 2. May 2. 01. 3. The seven individuals named were indicted by the Justice Department in March last year over their role in the cyberattacks between late 2. These attacks, which occurred on more than 1. Justice department said at the time. Watch I Am Ali Online Iflix there. Watch Wicked Lake Online Freeform. Although the DDo.

S attacks did damage and disrupted businesses and affected customers' ability to do online banking, the cyberattacks did not result in the theft of customer data, officials said."Treasury will continue to take strong actions to counter Iran's provocations, including support for the IRGC- Qods Force and terrorist extremists, the ongoing campaign of violence in Syria, and cyber- attacks meant to destabilize the U. S. financial system," Treasury Secretary Steven T. Mnuchin said in a statement.