Botnets

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. Collections of compromised computers or devices remotely controlled to perform coordinated tasks such as sending spam, launching cyber attacks, or generating fraudulent traffic
2. Networks of infected machines connected and managed by an attacker to execute widespread malicious activities including distributed denial-of-service attacks and unauthorized data theft
3. Groups of computers or internet-enabled devices infected with malware enabling an operator to orchestrate mass actions like spamming, hacking attempts, or manipulation of online systems in unison

Etymology: "Botnet" is a compound of "bot" and "net", and the "bot" half has an unexpected ancestry. It goes back through English "robot" to Czech "robota," meaning forced labour, a word that also gave the English "robot" its start. "Robot" was popularised by Karel Čapek's 1920 play "R.U.R.", and the shortened "bot" came to mean an automated program, which is the sense it carries here. The "net" half is ancient and ordinary, descending from Old English "nett," a word that has meant a woven mesh for catching things since long before computers existed. Joining the two gives a picture of a mesh of machines, each one quietly controlled by a distant operator. Because "botnet" is a plain compound of two existing words, the term needed no special coinage; it simply combined them. The plural "botnets" is the plural of that compound.

Synonyms: zombie networks, compromised networks, robot networks