Critical analysis of Microsoft Operation B71

FanJ · Apr 12, 2012

Critical analysis of Microsoft Operation B71, from the Dutch security company Fox-IT.

http://blog.fox-it.com/2012/04/12/critical-analysis-of-microsoft-operation-b71/

A little over 2 weeks ago Microsoft announced operation B71. It was being brought as the biggest blow to ZeuS botnets in history, and was picked up in the media globally.
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We have some reservations on this whole operation, which in light of the above statements, will become very twisted and will leave you with an uneasy feeling. I suggest reading the entire article, so you can form your own opinion. Microsoft has actually released the affidavits (statements of facts) and accompanying documents on a website reachable at http://www.zeuslegalnotice.com/.
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We have waited with publishing this response in anticipation of Microsoft publishing a statement of rectification on their recent operation b71 regarding some of the background on events that took place. This blog post will detail that background to some extent, so that the public knows and also the Microsoft customers and partners in this Operation b71 know what Microsoft did in order to offer their so called protection of their customers.
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Read more

ronjor · Apr 16, 2012

Microsoft Responds to Critics Over Botnet Bruhaha

Microsoft’s most recent anti-botnet campaign — a legal sneak attack against dozens of ZeuS botnets — seems to have ruffled the feathers of many in security community. The chief criticism is that the Microsoft operation exposed sensitive information that a handful of researchers had shared in confidence, and that countless law enforcement investigations may have been delayed or derailed as a result. In this post, I interview a key Microsoft attorney about these allegations.
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https://krebsonsecurity.com/2012/04/microsoft-responds-to-critics-over-botnet-bruhaha

FanJ · Apr 16, 2012

As far as I understand it, Microsoft did break a NDA. That's important to notice. The question is about trust. Imagine what would happen if you break a NDA with Microsoft and Microsoft doesn't like it.....

I guess this story is not over yet.

As far as I saw there's not yet a reply from Fox-IT on this "interview".

FanJ · Apr 17, 2012

Well, a lot of discussion at the link posted by Ron, and I'm sure elsewhere too.

As I said already, this story is not over yet.

But may I take also another, positive, approach in the hope for a positive outcome in someway for the future:
Soon there will be "The Counter eCrime Operations Summit" (CeCOS VI) in Prague. Wouldn't that be a good opportunity for all parties involved to talk about it, to try to gain trust in eachother again (yes, I know, trust must be earned), to try to avoid PR-talk, to work together again, all with only one goal: to get the bad guys out as much as possible.
That would be my wish.

CeCOS VI : http://apwg.org/events/2012_cecos.html

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Critical analysis of Microsoft Operation B71

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