Get Botnets Before They Get Us

Posted: April 30th, 2017

By J. Kevin Reid

J. Kevin Reid leads KeyLogic's National Security portfolio and serves as the company's Chief Information Officer (CIO). Previously Reid worked at the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), where he was most recently the Assistant Director of the IT Infrastructure Division. In his tenure at the FBI, he also held several Senior Executive positions including Assistant Director of the IT Applications and Data Division. He has over 30 years of experience in IT, engineering, financial and program management.

With the proliferation of smart devices connected to the public internet the population of botnets – networks of compromised devices that can be leveraged for large-scale cyber attacks – has exploded. The Cipher Brief spoke with Kevin Reid, Vice President of National Security and Chief Information Officer at KeyLogic and former Assistant Director of the IT Infrastructure Division at the FBI, about the threat botnets pose and how to manage risks.

The Cipher Brief: The Justice Department, using new authorities under Rule 41, has announced efforts to disrupt the Kelihos botnet. Please explain these new authorities and how Justice disrupts botnets?

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