botnet

noun

bot·net | \ ˈbät-ˌnet

Definition of botnet

: 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

Examples of botnet in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web In addition, Microsoft’s court order allows the company to take control of another 319 domains the botnet has been programmed to use as a fallback mechanism. — Michael Kan, PCMAG, 13 Apr. 2022 The operation copied and removed malware from firewall devices that Sandworm used for command-and-control of the botnet. — Tyler O'neil, Fox News, 7 Apr. 2022 Hof revealed that something appeared to be terribly wrong with Trickbot, a for-rent botnet that Conti and other crime groups used to deploy their malware. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 2 Mar. 2022 One example is using the name Mirai to mean botnet. — Sagar Samtani, The Conversation, 23 Feb. 2022 Operators of that botnet were arrested in China last September, The Record reported. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 10 Feb. 2022 And while this may seem extreme for a block-building game, remember that the infamous Mirai botnet started as a Minecraft hustle as well. — Brian Barrett, Wired, 30 Jan. 2022 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 Starting last December, Akamai researchers reported on Thursday, the botnet's infection rate increased tenfold and has now mushroomed to more than 1,500 machines. — Dan Goodin, Ars Technica, 10 Feb. 2022 See More

These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'botnet.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.