Towards Next-Generation Botnets

In this paper, we introduce the design of an advanced bot called Rambot that is based on the weaknesses we found when tracking a diverse set of botnets over a period of several months. The main features of this bot are peer-to-peer communication, strong cryptography, a credit-point system to build bilateral trust amongst bots, and a proof-of-work scheme to protect against potential attacks. The goal of this work is to increase the understanding of more advanced botnet designs, such that more efficient detection and mitigation systems can be developed in the future.