A botnet is a number of Internet - connected devices, each of which is running one or more bots. Botnets can be used to perform distributed denial - of - service attack (DDoS attack), steal data, send spam, and allow the attacker access to the device and its connection. The owner can control the botnet using command and control (C&C) software. The word "botnet '' is a combination of the words "robot '' and "network ''. The term is usually used with a negative or malicious connotation.
bots as part of a botnet can be controlled by hackers through
command and control (C&C) software