Examining the Creation, Distribution, and Function of Malware On-Line

This project will examine the social and technical aspects surrounding the creation, distribution, and use of bots by computer attackers. Specifically, they will collect, analyze, and determine the functionality of bots in a simulated computing environment through the UNC-Charlotte honeynet system. They will also explore and understand the way these programs are created and sold in the on-line black market run in publicly accessible web-forums in Eastern Europe and Russia, and how this impacts the United States. The proposed study will improve our knowledge of the number of bots currently circulating in the wild, the ways they are distributed through computer networks, and actually operate to attack a variety of targets in the US. This research will also identify the social dynamics behind the creation and sale of bots in the on-line black market.

ca/ncf