ARTICLE · 17 DECEMBER 2015

The End Of Dorkbot: CASL Enforcement

Norton Rose Fulbright Canada LLP

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The CRTC has obtained a warrant and taken down a command-and-control server alleged to be the centralized computer that issued commands to the botnet "Dorkbot."

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The CRTC has obtained a warrant and taken down a command-and-control server alleged to be the centralized computer that issued commands to the botnet "Dorkbot."

The CRTC has reported that Dorkbot spread through USB flash drives, instant messaging programs, and social networks. Once a computer becomes compromised, it can be instructed to: steal passwords used for online banking and payments; download and install dangerous malware; and join other infected computers in sending multiple requests to a specific server in the hopes of overwhelming its capacity to respond (known as a distributed denial of service attack).

The command-and-control server in this case also recieved reports back from the co-opted computers. It will be interesting to follow whether further proceedings or charges are laid in this case.

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