Cayosin DDoS Botnet

Cayosin is a newly observed botnet as-a-service that combines elements of Mirai, Qbot and other publicly available software. The developer of Cayosin has been marketing the service through legitimate social media platforms.

Threat ID:: CC-2930
Category:: Botnet
Threat Severity:: Medium
Threat Vector:: Vulnerability
Published:: 14 February 2019 12:00 AM

Report a cyber attack: call 0300 303 5222 or email [email protected]

Summary

Threat details

Cayosin looks to exploit vulnerabilities in Linux-based web servers, Internet-of-Things (IoT) devices and routers. Once installed, Cayosin will begin communicating with a command and control server.

Whilst Cayosin has primarily been used to launch distributed denial-of-service attacks, the service continues to evolve and is beginning to see use as a tool for other functions, including exfiltrating sensitive information and stealing credentials.

Remediation steps

Type	Step
	To avoid devices becoming part of an 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 suitable 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-based intrusion prevention and detection systems (HIPS/HIDS) where appropriate.

Type

Step

To avoid devices becoming part of an 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 suitable 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-based intrusion prevention and detection systems (HIPS/HIDS) where appropriate.

Last edited: 11 January 2022 9:43 am