Botnets can be beaten

Botnets refer to networks of "bots" or "zombies" puters that have been compromised and are being remotely controlled by a malicious third party.

Bidaou said botnet ecosystems had taken off in a big way since 2005, when malware had developed to the point that people were "turning technology into money".

He explained that botnets made money in a number of ways. They could spam people and impact stock values, or steal people`s credentials through phishing. Nigerian 419 scams were also promulgated through botnets, which also enabled on-demand hacking.

Botnets could also be rented out for spam campaigns featuring pop-up advertising, or the distribution of malware. However, Bidaou said there were things that could be done to combat the scourge.

These included interventions such as imposing harsher fines on those found guilty of botnet-related activities. Also, IT-specific interventions could be made, such as repressing spam and intrusions.

Education played a central role, with computer users needing to learn to use technology wisely, and to regularly update and patch software.

"With all these things being done together, we can easily win the war," insisted Bidaou. However, he conceded that "no one has an all-in-one solution".

According to him, "complete security is not realistic, but secure behaviour is becoming usual".