Instead of working to dismantle one of the world’s largest botnets, a federal judge in the Eastern District of Virginia granted Microsoft full control over the Trickbot botnet. Trickbot is a special kind of malware that gleans financial and personal data from unsuspecting recipients. Hackers use Trickbot to install malicious software onto infected systems. This network of botnet computers, now in the possession of Microsoft, is one of the largest of its kind anywhere in the world. The Trickbot has at least one million infected computers in its reach and another two million could be covertly infected in its network. According to cybersecurity experts, there are 19 identified Trickbot command and control servers that are currently active around the world.
This network of computers can be controlled remotely. They are infected with malware and can be used to spread both ransomware and malicious spam emails. The Trickbot botnet can be used by malicious hackers and politically-motivated groups to disrupt elections and target websites using DDoS attacks.
Why is Big Tech gaining control over Trickbot botnet?
Because Big Tech is fervently working to suppress and censor pro-Trump sites, while hiding any information that exposes Joe Biden’s corruption, Americans should be concerned that Microsoft now has power over the Trickbot botnet. Microsoft took all the necessary legal steps to acquire it, and can now use it against others, with the 2020 election just three weeks away. Microsoft will now be able to control the hackers, and will have the capability to interfere with state and local computer systems that are used to maintain voter rolls and report on election results.
Microsoft has been given this power because the Trickbot botnet was being used by Russian-speaking criminals who could potentially launch ransomware attacks and compromise election integrity. Those who have access to the botnet, can use it to hold computer data hostage, forcing election officials to pay a ransom to access the data. The botnet can be used to interfere with election data and cause outages. Microsoft argued that they can be trusted with the botnet, that voters should be confident in a fair election process if Microsoft is governing the hackers and interfering in their operations.
Is Microsoft positioning themselves as the election gatekeeper to suppress voter concerns and cover up voter fraud schemes?
Tom Burt, Microsoft's vice president of customer security and trust said the President has already assaulted the integrity of mail-in ballots, and the President’s attacks on the election system are unfounded. “Having just a few precincts report that they got disrupted and locked up and people couldn't vote or their ballots can't be counted -- it'd just be pouring kerosene on the fire," Burt said.
In other words, Microsoft is taking all the necessary precautions to interfere with hackers and control a botnet during the 2020 election, but President Trump’s concerns about the integrity of the system are “unfounded.” It seems Microsoft’s bias is already showing, revealing their true agenda here as they seize control over the botnet. (Related: Microsoft’s relationship with the Chinese government could be considered treasonous – as they assist in espionage against America.)
Election officials are genuinely concerned about ransomware during the 2020 election. Christopher Krebs, leader of the cybersecurity and infrastructure Security Agency at the Department of Homeland Security, said that ransomware use is on the rise in the US, and it is often enabled by Trickbot. The US military has been working to disrupt Trickbot by hijacking its command center and control servers. Once the military gets control, they send an update to all infected computers, cutting off the infected computers from the servers.
Microsoft has been given legal control over the botnet by claiming that the botmasters have infringed on its copyright through malware distribution. Burt said that Microsoft provided no evidence that botmasters were targeting the 2020 election; instead, Microsoft wanted to be the arbitrator over election confusion. If voter registration and e-pollbook systems are locked up prior to election day, Microsoft wanted to be in control, to quell voter fears. It appears Microsoft could be positioning themselves to be the gatekeeper over any election interference, voter fraud crime schemes caused by corrupt Democrats and other malicious hackers.
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