Bots are all the rage lately. But what are they, and more importantly, What are Bots, and How do They Improve Cyber Security? Stick around, and we’ll explore just that. You might be surprised at how helpful these little guys can be!
What are Bots, and How do They Improve Cyber Security?
Bots are programs that run automated tasks over the Internet. They can be good or bad depending on what they’re used for. In this article, we will focus on the security applications of bots.
Bots are used in various ways in order to protect your network and your data. They ensure that your network is safe and secure from internal threats (like disgruntled employees) and external threats (like hackers).
Botnets
Cybercriminals use bots to create massive botnets. These are networks of computers that have been taken over by malware. This means that the owners of these computers no longer have control over them. They are controlled remotely by a hacker who then uses them for their purposes.
Sometimes this might be for legitimate uses such as distributed computing for scientific research purposes. It might be for criminal purposes, such as using these networks to send spam or conduct other types of cyberattacks.
Recent attacks have proven that cybercriminals can not only use existing devices without their owners’ knowledge or consent, but they can also use newly released devices before their new owners even purchase them!
Botnets are becoming increasingly powerful and effective at conducting large scale attacks at the same time due to several reasons:
1) The Internet has become more pervasive than ever before, meaning more and more devices are connected online at any given moment in time, making them available targets for hackers to use for their botnets;
2) The rise of the internet-of-things (IoT) means that new devices are being released almost daily, making them available for hackers to use in botnets before their owners even purchase them;
3) Botnets are becoming more powerful as more and more devices get added to them;
4) Even if one device is compromised, it’s often only a matter of time before another device in the same network is compromised, making them both vulnerable to attacks from the same hacker; and finally,
5) Bots are becoming more sophisticated and complex as malware evolves.
Good Uses for Bots
Bots are also used for good, though. This might be for legitimate purposes such as distributed computing for scientific research or for security purposes such as running a DDoS attack on a malicious server. In this case, an authorized user of a bot would use it to run an attack on a server used by cybercriminals.
Benefits of Using Bots in Cyber Security
Bots can carry out various types of tests on your network and its devices to ensure their security is up to date and effective. For example, they can be used to test whether or not:
- The network is vulnerable to an attack from malware.
- Computer systems are vulnerable to an attack from malware.
- The website is vulnerable to an attack from cybercriminals.
- Servers are vulnerable to an attack from cybercriminals.
- Your employees are using social media sites by your organization’s policies and procedures; your employees are taking measures to protect their devices from cyberattacks; and much more.