A new botnet has been uncovered and it's available for commercial rent for DDoS on-demand, warns security firm Damballa. DDoS, or distributed denial-of-service attacks, are targeted Internet attacks that employ the use of large numbers--usually in the thousands or tens of thousands--of compromised computers in order to disrupt the online presence of the target. 

In a way, commercial access to a DDoS botnet sounds like a logical extension of their nefarious origins. What is shocking though is the extent of the commercialization for the IMDDOS botnet, which appears to entail varying "subscription" levels which customers can leverage to attack targets across the globe with no effort. Tips and various attack options are offered in order to launch "effective" DDoS attacks, and the service even comes with contact information for technical assistance and customer service.

This represents a radical departure from conventional models, which up until now involved soliciting business in underground hacker forums. For now, Damballa says that the botnet has been growing at between 2,000 to 10,000 new machines per day, which is a staggering number to say the least.

For more on this story:
- check out this article at Computerworld
- check out this article at Forbes Blogs

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