Adversaries may leverage the network bandwidth resources of co-opted systems to complete resource-intensive tasks, which may impact system and/or hosted service availability.

Adversaries may also use malware that leverages a system's network bandwidth as part of a botnet in order to facilitate Network Denial of Service campaigns and/or to seed malicious torrents.[1] Alternatively, they may engage in proxyjacking by selling use of the victims' network bandwidth and IP address to proxyware services.[2] Finally, they may engage in internet-wide scanning in order to identify additional targets for compromise.[3]

In addition to incurring potential financial costs or availability disruptions, this technique may cause reputational damage if a victim’s bandwidth is used for illegal activities.[2]

References

  1. Zuzana Hromcová. (2019, July 8). Malicious campaign targets South Korean users with backdoor‑laced torrents. Retrieved March 31, 2022.
  2. Crystal Morin. (2023, April 4). Proxyjacking has Entered the Chat. Retrieved July 6, 2023.
  3. Margaret Kelley, Sean Johnstone, William Gamazo, and Nathaniel Quist. (2024, August 15). Leaked Environment Variables Allow Large-Scale Extortion Operation in Cloud Environments. Retrieved September 25, 2024.

Saincheisteanna nasctha