Security researchers detected a previously undocumented botnet named Gucci, which is capable of launching multiple types of distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks against targeted organizations.

In an email exchange with SecurityWeek, SecNiche Security Labs researchers Aditya K Sood and Rohit Bansal analyzed the internet of things (IoT) threat’s binaries and observed that the Gucci botnet was targeting ARM, x86, MIPS, PPC, M68K and other architectures. This investigation revealed that a server located in the Netherlands was distributing the obfuscated binaries. It also showed that bad actors had stripped all the debug symbols from the binaries, thereby reducing their overall size.

After discovering that each Gucci bot was attempting to connect to a remote IP address on TCP port 5555, Sood and Bansal used automation to authenticate themselves and thereby gain access to the threat’s command-and-control (C&C) panel. They then uncovered that anyone with access to the panel could use the threat to conduct a variety of DDoS attacks, including UDP flood, SYN flood, ACK flood, UDP flood with less protocol options and GRE IP flood. Not long thereafter, however, those operating the botnet discovered the compromise and removed the TCP service from the host.

Not the Only IoT Threat to Recently Emerge

The Gucci botnet isn’t the only IoT-based threat of its kind to emerge in 2019. Back in March, Trend Micro discovered a new Mirai variant targeting smart TVs and wireless presentation systems commonly used by businesses. A couple months later, WootCloud spotted the Ares ADB botnet going after Android-based IoT devices such as set top boxes (STBs) and TVs. Most recently, in June, ZDNet learned of Silex, malware that wipes the firmware of infected IoT devices.

How to Defend Against the Gucci Botnet

Security professionals can help their organizations defend against the Gucci botnet by implementing security by design at the earliest stages of any and all IoT projects. This includes using a layered approach with IoT devices and disconnecting any build projects from public networks. Companies should also consider enlisting the help of a third party to help prevent a DDoS attack launched by an IoT botnet.