: a network of computers that have been linked together by malware : a network of bots (see bot entry 1 sense 2b)
Criminals link hijacked personal computers together to form "botnets"—clusters of infected PCs that spammers can control from anywhere in the world.—
Dave Mosher
Dave MosherExamples of botnet in a Sentence
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Now The Wall Street Journal has published a detailed look at an unlikely player in the investigation of those botnets, 22-year-old Benjamin Brundage, a student at the Rochester Institute of Technology.
—Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 4 Apr. 2026
Another group involved in ransomware paid the network over $1 million for access to the botnet.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
The hackers behind the botnets then sold access to cybercriminals, resulting in hundreds of thousands of DDoS attacks that could also try to extort victims.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
The design makes the botnet resistant to detection and takedowns through traditional methods.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for botnet
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Andy Greenberg, Wired News, 4 Apr. 2026
Another group involved in ransomware paid the network over $1 million for access to the botnet.
—Paula Wethington, CBS News, 25 Mar. 2026
The hackers behind the botnets then sold access to cybercriminals, resulting in hundreds of thousands of DDoS attacks that could also try to extort victims.
—Michael Kan, PC Magazine, 20 Mar. 2026
The design makes the botnet resistant to detection and takedowns through traditional methods.
—Dan Goodin, ArsTechnica, 11 Mar. 2026
See All Example Sentences for botnet
Cite this Entry
“Botnet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botnet. Accessed 22 Apr. 2026.
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