: 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 Mosher
Examples of botnet in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Domains are also used for spear phishing or botnets.
—Ken Carnesi, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The All About IoT Security six-course program covers malware and botnets, network monitoring, setting up testbeds, and applying blockchain technology.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2024
The botnet runs the miner with (at most) one argument that tells it to print its logs.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2024
The only reason for creating a fake app is to execute a malicious act, most commonly to add users to a botnet used for criminal activity or to steal user credentials, in this case, a valuable Google Account, for illicit gain.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
The court order goes on to suggest the FBI developed a way to hijack the botnet, and identify the infected routers.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 31 Jan. 2024
Laundering DDoS attack Cloudflare Virtual-machine botnets.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 19 July 2023
Increasing the urgency of patching the Zyxel vulnerability, researchers in June published exploit code that anyone could download and incorporate into their own botnet software.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 21 July 2023
Ukrainian officials confirmed that the Mirai botnet, malware commonly used in botnets during large-scale network attacks, was employed in these cyberattacks.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2022
Ken Carnesi, Forbes, 27 Mar. 2024
The All About IoT Security six-course program covers malware and botnets, network monitoring, setting up testbeds, and applying blockchain technology.
—IEEE Spectrum, 19 Mar. 2024
The botnet runs the miner with (at most) one argument that tells it to print its logs.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 10 Jan. 2024
The only reason for creating a fake app is to execute a malicious act, most commonly to add users to a botnet used for criminal activity or to steal user credentials, in this case, a valuable Google Account, for illicit gain.
—Davey Winder, Forbes, 30 Mar. 2024
The court order goes on to suggest the FBI developed a way to hijack the botnet, and identify the infected routers.
—Michael Kan, PCMAG, 31 Jan. 2024
Laundering DDoS attack Cloudflare Virtual-machine botnets.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 19 July 2023
Increasing the urgency of patching the Zyxel vulnerability, researchers in June published exploit code that anyone could download and incorporate into their own botnet software.
—Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 21 July 2023
Ukrainian officials confirmed that the Mirai botnet, malware commonly used in botnets during large-scale network attacks, was employed in these cyberattacks.
—Nicole Sganga, CBS News, 18 Feb. 2022
These examples are programmatically compiled from various online sources to illustrate current usage of the word 'botnet.' Any opinions expressed in the examples do not represent those of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback about these examples.
Word History
Etymology
First Known Use
2003, in the meaning defined above
Articles Related to botnet
Dictionary Entries Near botnet
Cite this Entry
“Botnet.” Merriam-Webster.com Dictionary, Merriam-Webster, https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/botnet. Accessed 19 Apr. 2024.
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