IRC Botnets Dying...But Not Dead

Once the most common form of malicious computer network, botnets that use the IRC (Internet Relay Chat) protocol are going the way of the Brontosaurus, according to a report from Internet security monitoring firm Team Cymru.

Under fire from better monitoring of IRC command and control (C&C) traffic and replaced by harder to block HTTP-based botnets, the number of active IRC botnets is dwindling, even as the number of active botnets, overall, is increasing at a rapid pace, Cymru said.

More: http://threatpost.com/en_us/blogs/report-irc-botnets-dyingbut-not-dead-111610