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Comodo has issued a statement supporting the BBC in its use of a botnet in an investigation on cybercrime. The declaration makes Comodo one of the few security vendors, aside from Prevx, that helped the BBC with the story and has come forward with an official statement of support. According to the release, the BBC investigation made good use of taxpayer money when it purchased a botnet of 21,696 computers.
Comodo applauds BBC’s botnet usage.(IMG:J.Anderson)
“Well done, BBC!” said Melih Abdulhayoglu in the release. Abdulhayoglu is CEO and Chief Security Architect at Comodo.
He makes these comments when referencing the BBC’s story on cybersecurity, where the television program Click purchased a botnet and used it to send Spam, perform a DoS attack, and alter desktop settings on infected systems, all before subsequently dismantling its malicious network of systems.
“While others criticize the computing show’s decision to hire a live botnet to show how easily computers could be hijacked, Abdulhayoglu cheered it. Programmers paid by the BBC wrote software instructing 22,000 PCs that had been infected with malware to send emails without their owners’ awareness,” the Comodo statement says. “This is a good use of taxpayer money,” said Abdulhayoglu.
Comodo is known for security software and SSL certificates. It offers both paid and free versions of its security products, but most of the notoriety comes from the free suite of security software that is composed of AV, Firewall, Spyware, and Adware protection.
When news of the Click investigation appeared online, several security vendors took official stances on the issue, with most condemning the BBC for its actions while legal experts weighed the possible ramifications of what the BBC did.
A video from Abdulhayoglu can be viewed below.
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