Structured Peer-to-Peer Overlay Networks: Ideal Botnets Command and Control Infrastructures?

Botnets, in particular the Storm botnet, have been garnering much attention as vehicles for Internet crime. Storm uses a modified version of Overnet, a structured Peer-To-Peer (P2P) overlay network protocol, to build its Command and Control (C&C) infrastructure. In this paper, the authors use simulation to determine whether there are any significant advantages or disadvantages to employing structured P2P overlay networks for botnet C&C, in comparison to using unstructured P2P networks or other complex network models.