Free download: Botnet and IoT Security Guide 2020

The Council to Secure the Digital Economy (CSDE), a partnership between global technology, communications, and internet companies supported by USTelecom—The Broadband Association and the Consumer Technology Association (CTA), released the International Botnet and IoT Security Guide 2020, a comprehensive set of strategies to protect the global digital ecosystem from the growing threat posed by botnets, malware and distributed attacks.

Botnet and IoT Security Guide 2020

International Botnet and IoT Security Guide 2020

Botnets are large networks of compromised devices under the control of malicious actors whose goals can range from criminal activity to cyberattacks against nation states. In the International Botnet and IoT Security Guide 2020, members of the Council analyzed how the botnet threat has evolved in the past 12 months and found that botnets are adapting with new strategies, more focus on enterprise IoT, and increasing fraud and social media abuse.

These developments inflict direct, tangible costs on the digital economy. Since 2017, malware has spread across Europe, Asia and the Americas, causing more than $10 billion in damage. Cyber crimes are estimated to cost $8 trillion (in fines, loss of business and remediation costs) over the next five years.

Resilience strategies

The CSDE guide includes strategies to increase the resilience of the internet and communications ecosystem and enhance the integrity of the underlying digital infrastructure. It urges implementation of baseline security tools, practices and processes.

Jonathan Spalter, President and CEO, USTelecom, said: “We have entered a world where virtually every aspect of our lives will rely on applications that reside on billions of connected devices and share real time data over an endless variety of networks and systems. The flip side of this unprecedented connectivity is the looming cyber threat to individuals and our digital economy that is growing more frequent, more sophisticated and more dangerous. The good news: there are strategies to fight back against botnets and cyber criminals.”

“The innovations enabled by today’s anytime/anywhere connectivity are improving lives across the world. But as our digital economy and infrastructure grow, we must be better prepared to fight cyber attacks. This guide demonstrates our effort to unite industries, governments and organizations across the digital ecosystem to stay ahead of evolving botnet threats. Consumers have to be able to trust the security of the IoT and the tech devices that connect them to the world,” said Brian Markwalter, senior vice president, research and standards, CTA.

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