Chuck Norris botnet karate-chops routers hard

If you have not changed the default password on your router, it is possible that in an unwelcome visit from Chuck Norris – Chuck Norris of the botnet, ie.

Czech researchers discovered, the botnet has been extended to take advantage of misconfigured routers and DSL modems, according to Jan Vykopal, the head of network security with the Masaryk University Institute of Computing Science Brno, Czech Republic.

The malware has the nickname Chuck Norris Italian commentary by a programmer in your source code: “Chuck Norris in nome di” meaning “in the name of Chuck Norris.” Norris is an American actor best known for his martial arts films like “The Way of the Dragon” and “Missing in Action.”

Security experts say that the various types of botnets that infected millions of computers around the world so far, but Chuck Norris is unusual in that it infects DSL modems and routers instead of PC.

Installed on routers and modems to guess default administrative passwords and by exploiting the fact that many devices are configured to allow remote access. Also exploits a known vulnerability in the devices D-Link Systems, Vykopal said in an interview via email.

A spokesman for D-Link, said he was not aware of the botnet, and the company did not immediately comment on the subject.

Like a previous botnet that infected router called psyb0t, Chuck Norris can infect a MIPS-based device running the Linux operating system, if your admin interface is a user name and password weak, he said. This combination of Linux MIPS is widely used in routers and DSL modems, but also attacks botnet satellite TV receivers.

Vykopal not know how big the botnet Chuck Norris is, but says it has evidence that the machines hacked distributed throughout the world: South America through Europe to Asia. Botnet is to many ISP networks [Internet service provider] and telecom operators, “he said.

Now Chuck Norris-infected machines can be used to attack other systems on the Internet, in what is known as denial of service attacks. The botnet can initiate a password guessing dictionary attack on another computer, and can also change the DNS (Domain Name System) settings in the router. With this attack, the victims in the network router that connects to think Facebook or Google end up redirected to a malicious website that then try to install a virus on their computers.

Once installed in memory of the router, the bot blocks remote communication ports and begins to scan the network for other vulnerable machines. It is controlled via IRC.

Because Chuck Norris botnet life in the router’s RAM can be removed with a reboot.

Users who do not want to be infected may reduce the risk – the easiest way to do this is by using a strong password on your router or modem. Users can also tackle the problem, keeping your firmware to date and by disabling remote access services.