[OPLIN 4cast] OPLIN 4Cast #690: Can Trickbot be shattered before the election?

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OPLIN 4Cast #690: Can Trickbot be shattered before the election?
October 14th, 2020

[image: Fist punching through glass] Last week, Brian Krebs broke the story
that some unknown actor was trying to disrupt Trickbot
<https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/10/attacks-aimed-at-disrupting-the-trickbot-botnet/>,
an enormous collection of two million infected computers which provides one
of the most active Malware-as-a-Service platforms. It turns out these
disruptions were coming from multiple directions: the Department of
Homeland Security and separately from a coalition of tech companies. The
botnet was not permanently damaged—in fact, there are reports that
ransomware operations are "pretty much back in full-swing
<https://www.engadget.com/us-cyber-command-trickbot-botnet-154548592.html>"—but
this is one way to keep the cybercriminals busy.

   -
   - Cyber Command has sought to disrupt the world’s largest botnet, hoping
   to reduce its potential impact on the election
   <https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/cyber-command-trickbot-disrupt/2020/10/09/19587aae-0a32-11eb-a166-dc429b380d10_story.html>
   [*Washington Post*] "Department of Homeland Security Officials fear that
   a ransomware attack on state or local voter registration offices and
   related systems could disrupt preparations for Nov. 3 or cause confusion or
   long lines on Election Day."
   - Microsoft and others orchestrate takedown of TrickBot botnet
   <https://www.zdnet.com/article/microsoft-and-other-tech-companies-orchestrate-takedown-of-trickbot-botnet/>
   [*ZDNet*] "According to the coalition's members, the TrickBot botnet had
   infected more than one million computers at the time of its takedown. Some
   of these infected systems also included Internet of Things (IoT) devices."
   - Microsoft Takes Down a Risk to the Election, and Finds the U.S. Doing
   the Same
   <https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/12/us/politics/election-hacking-microsoft.html?campaign_id=158&emc=edit_ot_20201012&instance_id=23062&nl=on-tech-with-shira-ovide%C2%AEi_id=84399001&segment_id=40702&te=1&user_id=57a70bcb4201ae850b1b3c76a2f893b3>
   [*New York Times*] "The one-two punch painted a picture of the
   accelerating cyberconflict underway in the final weeks before the
   elections. Cyber Command, following a model it created in the 2018 midterm
   elections, kicked off a series of covert pre-emptive strikes on the
   Russian-speaking hackers it believes could aid President Vladimir V. Putin
   in disrupting the casting, counting and certifying of ballots this
   November. Meanwhile, Microsoft, Symantec and other American companies are
   doing the same."
   - Microsoft Uses Trademark Law to Disrupt Trickbot Botnet
   <https://krebsonsecurity.com/2020/10/microsoft-uses-copyright-law-to-disrupt-trickbot-botnet/>
   [*Krebs on Security*] "A court in Virginia granted Microsoft control
   over many Internet servers Trickbot uses to plunder infected systems, based
   on novel claims that the crime machine abused the software giant’s
   trademarks. However, it appears the operation has not completely disabled
   the botnet."

*From the Ohio Web Library <http://ohioweblibrary.org>:*

   - Kerner, Sean Michael. “TrickBot Malware Targets Tax Filing Deadline,
   IBM Warns
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=cph&AN=135822318&site=ehost-live>
   .” *EWeek*, Apr. 2019, p. N.PAG.
   - D’Souza, Vijay A., and Rebecca Gambler. “ELECTION SECURITY: DHS Plans
   Are Urgently Needed to Address Identified Challenges Before the 2020
   Elections
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=141588220&site=ehost-live>
   .” *GAO Reports*, Feb. 2020, p. i-41.
   - Kroll, Andy. “The Hack Next Time
   <https://search-ebscohost-com.proxy.oplin.org/login.aspx?direct=true&db=ulh&AN=141393625&site=ehost-live>
   .” *Rolling Stone*, no. 1336, Feb. 2020, pp. 37–92.

------------------------------
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