Mirai Source Code Boosts Popularity of DDoS-as-a-Service Criminal Activity

As one would come to expect from the recent Mirai botnet attacks, DDoS-as-a-service is becoming quite the booming industry. Seemingly everyone in the world holds a grudge against online companies and would like nothing more than to take them down. Now that the Mirai source code was put online several months ago, the number of DDoS attacks will only increase.

DDoS-as-a-business Turns Into A Profitable Business Model

In the world of cybercrime, there are always people willing to do the dirty work for you. Even those who have no idea where to begin when it comes to compiling the Mirai botnet source code, there are those who will offer DDoS attacks as a service in exchange for payment. Even though there are plenty of people who can turn this source code into a valuable tool for their own needs, there are always people willing to pay for such a service.

Just because the Mirai source code is freely available does not mean that aspiring criminals will have an easy time setting up their first botnet. The code is nothing more than a brief guide as to how things will unfold, assuming people put in enough effort to make it work. That doesn’t mean, however, that there is no steep learning curve attached to this process.

Setting up the Mirai source code requires a minimum of four different servers and a certain level of expertise. Now that the solution has been open sourced, criminals have started developing new tools and features for the community. Unfortunately for aspiring internet criminals, this makes setting up the source code even more difficult.

But there is a silver lining for those who are not willing to invest a lot of time into researching the source code and its intricate working. Botnet-as-a-service is a booming business, even though hackers are charging steep prices for this service. Some will even go as far as offering technical support to set up the source code.

To put this into perspective, HackForums contained one particular listing which charged over US$700 for setting up Mirai on behalf of someone else. This included six hours of work to set up servers and conduct quality checks. This is not the biggest investment for a potentially successful criminal operation, although it may put off a lot of people.

DDoS service providers are posing a very significant threat to online companies and users alike. Everyone and everything in the world can be knocked offline if the attack is powerful enough. By offering this business as a service, it is not unlikely that DDoS attacks will become far more widespread than ever before. Mirai’s source code is a significant threat, and it looks like things are only getting worse over time.

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