Number of Zombie Computers Double

[BellisimaJ.]

Watchdogs Battle Zombie Computer Networks as Attacks Double


Oct. 16 (Bloomberg) -- The number of zombies out there lurking on desktops is growing. And to fight them, a band of Internet security experts is using a ``neighborhood watch'' approach and every honey pot it can muster.

The Shadowserver Foundation's worldwide daily count of zombie computers, which are infected with viruses and bent to malevolent purposes, doubled this month to 300,000 from 150,000 a year earlier. The spurt comes from more hackers linking machines to form botnets, networks they use to steal identities, attack Web sites and sell pilfered e-mail addresses to spammers.

Internet crimes cost consumers and businesses $239 million in 2007, up 20 percent from the year before, according to U.S. government data. Botnets are growing in popularity and sophistication as tools for hackers, and Shadowserver's research helps law enforcement and security companies such as McAfee Inc. identify emerging threats.

Edit for typo.

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