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Hackers Find Home In Amazon EC2 Cloud

Posted by CmdrTaco on from the don't-mind-us dept.

snydeq writes "Security researchers have spotted the Zeus botnet running an unauthorized command and control center on Amazon's EC2 cloud computing infrastructure. This marks the first time Amazon Web Services' cloud infrastructure has been used for this type of illegal activity, according to threat researcher Don DeBolt. The hackers got onto Amazon's infrastructure by hacking into a Web site hosted on Amazon's servers and then secretly installing their command and control infrastructure."

9 of 89 comments (clear)

  1. If anything... by iamapizza · · Score: 5, Funny

    This is going to Kindle a debate about the merits and demerits of the cloud.

    --
    Always proofread carefully to see if you any words out.
  2. And? by Kenja · · Score: 4, Insightful

    There is nothing intrinsic to a cloud of computers that makes them any different then the internet in general. Anything that makes use of unprotected computers on the internet will make use of a cloud as well. In fact, from a logical perspective, the internet is a cloud. Its just that access is generally curtailed in some way.

    --

    "Have you ever thought about just turning off the TV, sitting down with your kids, and hitting them?"
    1. Re:And? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Funny

      Wait a minute. I'm a manager, and I've been reading a lot of case studies and watching a lot of webcasts about The Cloud. Based on all of this glorious marketing literature, I, as a manager, have absolutely no reason to doubt the safety of any data put in The Cloud.

      The case studies all use words like "secure", "MD5", "RSS feeds" and "encryption" to describe the security of The Cloud. I don't know about you, but that sounds damn secure to me! Some Clouds even use SSL and HTTP. That's rock solid in my book.

      And don't forget that you have to use Web Services to access The Cloud. Nothing is more secure than SOA and Web Services, with the exception of perhaps SaaS. But I think that Cloud Services 2.0 will combine the tiers into an MVC-compliant stack that uses SaaS to increase the security and partitioning of the data.

      My main concern isn't with the security of The Cloud, but rather with getting my Indian team to learn all about it so we can deploy some first-generation The Cloud applications and Web Services to provide the ultimate platform upon which we can layer our business intelligence and reporting, because there are still a few verticals that we need to leverage before we can move to The Cloud 2.0.

    2. Re:And? by TooMuchToDo · · Score: 4, Informative

      Link next time. I had to waste 10 seconds googling =) http://rationalwiki.com/wiki/Poe's_Law

  3. Nothing really special by Yetihehe · · Score: 5, Insightful

    Hackers break into website, but it happens to be hosted on EC2. Hosting in cloud doesn't automagically make your sites more secure.

    --
    Extreme Programming - Redundant Array of Inexpensive Developers
  4. This type of illegal activity? by quangdog · · Score: 4, Insightful

    "This marks the first time Amazon Web Services' cloud infrastructure has been used for this type of illegal activity"

    So, has it been used for other illegal things that have been reported on? Is it even possible for anyone to find out all the possible illegal uses of technolgies like cloud computing?

  5. Ready for prime time! by HaeMaker · · Score: 5, Funny

    You know, if bot net operators are trusting the EC2 cloud for their mission critical operations, it has to be ready for prime time.

    This is a stunning endorsement. Amazon should send out a press release.

  6. the interesting thing is autoscaling and billing by noric · · Score: 4, Interesting

    The interesting thing about this case, to me, is that Amazon's lawful customer will receive a bill in the mail for hacker usage charges.

  7. Re:I'm just pwning your server if that's ok... by Monkeedude1212 · · Score: 5, Funny

    When was the last time a criminal came up to your admin and said, "Hi, I'm going to install my unwanted rootkit on your server now so I can use it as a botnet."?

    Yesterday. But since he wasn't asking a question, I couldn't say no. I advised him that his course of action was not one that I wished to occur and he politely informed me that it was "duly noted" and proceeded anyways. All in all, it was a nice verbal transaction and his posture was excellent, and I'm sure outside of his work he's a really nice guy. I wanted to ask him if he wanted to go for a couple of cold ones - but I think that might have been pushing it and didn't want to offend him.

    To be honest, the thing that bugs me more than this backdoor to my machine is the regret that I never reached out to him more. A lost friendship, that will likely never have another chance at forming. Everytime that Antivirus XP pop-up comes on screen it reminds me of him. I've slowly come to realize that I am remembering him constantly, where he probably does not remember me at all. I shamefully admit that I cry myself to sleep, telling myself that one day he'll come back to me, and maybe out of remorse he'll remove the conficker and everything will be okay.