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Security Operations · Intermediate

Mirai

An IoT botnet malware family that spreads by logging in to devices with default credentials and launches massive DDoS attacks.

Definition

Mirai scanned for Telnet-exposed IoT devices such as cameras and DVRs and used a list of factory default usernames and passwords. In 2016 it drove record DDoS attacks against Krebs on Security, OVH and DNS provider Dyn. Its released source code spawned many variants.

Example

The 2016 Dyn DNS outage caused by Mirai bots made major websites unreachable.

Exam tip

Mirai is the textbook example of why default credentials on IoT devices are dangerous.

Related terms