Fighting botnets with sinkholes

In the early days of the Internet, domain theft was a problem. But these days, it's a legitimate practice, designed to make the network a safer place. Sinkholing is becoming a relatively commonplace practice in the cyber-security research community. It enables law enforcement organisations, security companies and large software vendors to displace cyber-criminals online, effectively stealing their online homes from under their noses. But how does it work, and what underlying ethical considerations does it raise? Sinkholing is becoming a relatively commonplace practice in the cyber-security research community. It is used frequently to analyse and defeat botnets. This technique enables law enforcement organisations, security companies and large software vendors to displace cyber-criminals online, effectively stealing their online homes from under their noses. But how does it work, and what underlying ethical considerations does it raise? Danny Bradbury finds out.