What we know (and learned) from the takedown of the Waledac botnet

Posted by Tim Cranton 
Associate General Counsel

Recently I blogged about the successful takedown of the Waledac botnet by the Microsoft Digital Crimes Unit in an action dubbed “Operation b49.”  Our intention was to disrupt the Waledac botnet for the long term, as well as mark a new phase in our efforts to combat botnets.  Today, we’ve released some of the early findings that we and other researchers have made on the impact of Operation b49. Highlights include greatly reduced communications within the bot network, a drop-off in new infections and some interesting news about post-takedown spam levels. 

To review the findings in detail, take a look at our post on the Microsoft Malware Protection Center blog.  We’re very encouraged by the initial outcomes of this action, but there’s much more work yet to be done.  Stay tuned.