What Are Botnets?
Botnets are groups of malware-infected, Internet-connected devices that perform mundane tasks with precision and speed. They are led by bot masters, aka bot herders, who communicate with a C&C server (a computer that instructs infected devices to carry out attacks and perform other functions) via covert channels, such as Internet Relay Chats (IRCs) and websites.
Each individual connected computer in a botnet is called a zombie because the computer or device owner is generally unaware that their machine is mindlessly performing malicious actions. Botnets can wreak all kinds of havoc—from DDoS attacks to cryptocoin mining, from sending spam to spreading fake news.