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cover of episode Danabot: The Malware Operation That infected Itself

Danabot: The Malware Operation That infected Itself

2025/6/16
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Danabot, a long-running malware platform, was exposed due to a critical mistake: it infected one of its own machines. This self-infection allowed investigators to access key data, including passwords and cookies, leading to the unmasking of several Danabot developers.
  • Danabot was a modular and professional malware platform sold as a service.
  • It infected an estimated 300,000 machines across dozens of countries.
  • Danabot's self-infection revealed the identities of some of its developers.
  • The InfoStealer component of Danabot stored saved passwords and cookies.
  • The US Department of Justice unsealed charges against 16 of Danabot's alleged developers.

Shownotes Transcript

In this episode: the inside story of Danabot, the malware-as-a-service platform that thrived in the shadows for nearly a decade—until a critical mistake exposed its creators. Just last week, U.S. prosecutors unsealed charges against sixteen alleged operators, using evidence pulled not from a takedown, but from Danabot’s own infection logs.

Plus: a roundup of other top stories.

Last week was a rerun—life got a little hectic—so we kept the mic hot and recorded a 90-minute marathon episode to make up for it. Let us know if you're intro it.

Hacked is brought to you by Push Security Check them out at pushsecurity.com.

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