Necurs (botnet)

2020: Microsoft: We neutralized the largest hacker network of Russia

In March, 2020 Microsoft announced that the company together with 35 partners in the different countries neutralized the botnet Necurs covering about 9 million computers. According to the company, the hacker network is based in Russia, and it is the largest in own way.

According to the statement of Microsoft, specialists managed to crack an algorithm Necurs, to define domain names which had to be used by network in the next two years and block them.

Microsoft announced that the company together with 35 partners in the different countries neutralized the botnet Necurs covering about 9 million computers

We could predict precisely more than 6 million unique domains which will be created within the next 25 months — the vice president of Microsoft Tom Burt says. — Having taken the existing websites under control and having limited a possibility of registration new, we undermined work of a botnet.

The attack against Necurs took place on March 10, 2020 from the American headquarters of Microsoft in Redmond, the State of Washington. In spite of the fact that the office was partially dismissed because of threat of spread of a coronavirus, during transaction the staff of department gathered in the building. Earlier the court of the USA issued the decree which allowed Microsoft to take under control Necurs infrastructure in the country.

The cybercriminals developing Necurs used a bot network for remote capture of the devices connected to the Internet and installation of the malicious software, including the known bank trojan of GameOver Zeus. Software can be used for spam sending, theft of personal data or removal of information without notice of the owner.

The Necurs network was considered as one of the first in mailings electronic spam mail. In 58 days when investigation was made, computers from this botnet sent to 3.8 million spam letters more than 40.6 million victims. It is noted that hunting for hackers continued for 8 years.^[1]

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