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{{Short description|Spam email botnet}}
'''Waledac''', also known by its aliases '''Waled''' and '''Waledpak''', was a [[botnet]] mostly involved in [[e-mail spam]] and [[malware]]. In March 2010 the botnet was taken down by [[Microsoft]].<ref name="theregister_waldacdecimated">{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/03/16/waledac_takedown_success/ |title=Waledac botnet 'decimated' by MS takedown; Up to 90,000 zombies freed |first=Dan |last=Goodin |work=theregister.co.uk |publisher=[[The Register]] |location=London, UK |date=2010-03-16 |access-date=2014-01-09}}</ref><ref name=cnet>{{cite web|last=Whitney |first=Lance |url=http://news.cnet.com/8301-1009_3-10459558-83.html |title=With legal nod, Microsoft ambushes Waledac botnet | Security - CNET News |publisher=News.cnet.com |date=2010-02-25 |access-date=2010-07-30}}</ref>

== Operations ==
Before its eventual takedown, the Waledac botnet consisted of an estimated 70,000–90,000 computers infected with the "Waledac" [[computer worm]].<ref name="theregister_waldacdecimated"/> The botnet itself was capable of sending about 1.5 billion spam messages a day, or about 1% of the total global spam volume.<ref name=cnet/><ref name=informationweek>{{cite web|last=Claburn |first=Thomas |url=http://www.informationweek.com/news/hardware/desktop/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=223100747 |title=Microsoft Decapitates Waledac Botnet |publisher=InformationWeek |access-date=2010-07-30}}</ref>

On February 25, 2010, [[Microsoft]] won a court order which resulted in the temporary cut-off of 277 [[domain name]]s which were being used as [[command and control]] servers for the botnet, effectively crippling a large part of the botnet.<ref name="theregister_waldacdecapitated">{{cite web|url=https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/02/25/ms_waledac_takedown/ |title=MS uses court order to take out Waledac botnet; Zombie network decapitated. For now |first=John |last=Leyden |work=theregister.co.uk |publisher=[[The Register]] |location=London, UK |date=2010-02-25 |access-date=2014-01-09}}</ref> However, besides operating through command and control servers the Waledac worm is also capable of operating through [[peer-to-peer]] communication between the various botnet nodes, which means that the extent of the damage is difficult to measure.<ref name=fortiguard>{{cite web|url=http://www.fortiguard.com/analysis/waledacanalysis.html |title=Waledac Botnet - Deployment & Communication Analysis |publisher=FortiGuard |date=2009-09-30 |access-date=2010-07-30}}</ref>
Codenamed 'Operation b49', an investigation was conducted for some months which thereby yielded an end to the 'zombie' computers. More than a million 'zombie' computers were brought out of the garrison of the hackers but still infected.<ref>{{cite web|author=Help Net Security |url=http://www.net-security.org/secworld.php?id=8926 |title=Microsoft cripples the Waledac botnet | date=26 February 2010 |publisher=Net-security.org |access-date=2014-01-09}}</ref>

In early September 2010, [[Microsoft]] was granted ownership of the 277 domains used by Waledac to broadcast spam email.<ref>{{cite news| url=https://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2010-09-08-botnets08_ST_N.htm | work=USA Today | first=Byron | last=Acohido | title=Microsoft gets legal might to target spamming botnets | date=2010-09-08}}</ref>

The botnet was particularly active in North America and Europe and India, Japan and China.<ref>{{cite web |title=Microsoft goes to court to take down the Waledac botnet |url=https://www.theguardian.com/technology/blog/2010/feb/25/microsoft-waledac-botnet-beheaded |website=the Guardian |language=en |date=25 February 2010}}</ref>

== See also ==
*[[Botnet]]
*[[Internet crime]]
*[[Internet security]]
*[[Command and control (malware)]]
*[[Zombie (computer science)]]

== References ==
{{Reflist|2}}

== External links ==
*[http://www.symantec.com/content/en/us/enterprise/media/security_response/whitepapers/W32_Waledac.pdf Technical analysis of the Waledac worm]
*{{webarchive |date=2013-01-02 |url=https://archive.today/20130102212709/http://blogs.techrepublic.com.com/security/?p=3233 |title=Is the infamous Waledac botnet out of the picture or not? | TechRepublic.com}}

{{Botnets}}
{{Hacking in the 2000s}}

[[Category:Internet security]]
[[Category:Distributed computing projects]]
[[Category:Spamming]]
[[Category:Botnets]]
[[Category:Hacking in the 2010s]]
[[Category:Cybercrime in India]]

Waledac botnet - Revision history

Ajay Kumar: Created a new article