Bitdefender describes a new Internet-of-things (IoT) botnet, "Hide 'N' Seek" (or simply HNS). HNS is marked by its rapid spread, growing from twenty-seven-hundred to more than twenty-four-thousand devices over the last two days. Its infection mechanism is the same as Reaper's, but researchers discern no other connection between the two botnets.
HNS's rapid spread is enabled by a decentralized peer-to-peer mechanism that will complicate any takedowns. Other botnets have used P2P communications, but they've relied upon an existing BitTorrent protocol. HNS uses a custom system. Once installed, HNS's capabilities include code execution, data exfiltration, and interference with device operation. Effectively every infected device serves as a command-and-control server, a file server, and a jumping-off point for further infection. Bitdefender thinks HNS has the hallmarks of an attack prepared by an unusually sophisticated threat actor.
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