Skip to main content

Okane Botnet

First observed in 2017, Okane is a Mirai variant botnet used to perform distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

This content has been archived

This article no longer conforms to NHS Digital's standards for cyber alerts, and may contain outdated or inaccurate information. Use of this information contained in this page is at your own risk

Summary

First observed in 2017, Okane is a Mirai variant botnet used to perform distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.

Threat details

As with most Mirai-variant malware, Okane propagates using default credentials, brute-force attacks or 0-day exploits on exposed Internet-of-Things devices.

Once on a device, Okane is used to perform a large number of TCP- and UDP-based DDoS attacks.


Remediation steps

Type Step

Okane is a file-less malware and can be fully removed by rebooting affected devices.

To avoid devices becoming part of an Internet-of-Things (IoT) botnet, organisations should:

  • Review the network security of IoT devices on the estate.
  • Change any IoT device default usernames and passwords.

To protect against a distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attack, organisations should ensure:

  • They have suitable DDoS mitigation tools.
  • They have a DDoS mitigation plan in place.

Should an organisation suspect it is subject to an active DDoS attack, they should ensure that every effort is made to stop the attack and restore service. However, care should be taken to ensure that the attackers are not using the DDoS attack as a distraction whilst other, potentially more sensitive, systems are exploited. Monitoring of critical systems is recommended, including the use of host intrusion prevention and detection systems (HIPS/HIDS) where appropriate.


Last edited: 17 February 2020 12:51 pm