Masjesu Botnet Emerges as DDoS-for-Hire Service Targeting Global IoT Devices
Masjesu Botnet Emerges as DDoS-for-Hire Service Targeting Global IoT Devices
https://thehackernews.com/2026/04/masjesu-botnet-emerges-as-ddos-for-hire.html
Publish Date: 2026-04-08 12:30:00
Source Domain: thehackernews.com
Cybersecurity researchers have lifted the curtain on a stealthy botnet that’s designed for distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks.
Called Masjesu, the botnet has been advertised via Telegram as a DDoS-for-hire service since it first surfaced in 2023. It’s capable of targeting a wide range of IoT devices, such as routers and gateways, spanning multiple architectures.
“Built for persistence and low visibility, Masjesu favors careful, low-key execution over widespread infection, deliberately avoiding blocklisted IP ranges such as those belonging to the Department of Defense (DoD) to ensure long-term survival,” Trellix security researcher Mohideen Abdul Khader F said in a Tuesday report.
It’s worth noting that the commercial offering also goes by the moniker XorBot owing to its use of XOR-based encryption to conceal strings, configurations, and payload data. It was first documented by Chinese security vendor NSFOCUS in December 2023, linking it to an operator named “synmaestro.”
A subsequent iteration of the botnet observed a year later was found to have added 12 different command injection and code execution exploits to target routers, cameras, DVRs, and NVRs from D-Link, Eir, GPON, Huawei, Intelbras, MVPower, NETGEAR, TP-Link, and Vacron, and obtain initial access. Also added were new modules to conduct DDoS flood attacks.
“As an emerging botnet family, XorBot is showing a strong growth momentum, continuously infiltrating and controlling new IoT devices,” NSFOCUS said in November 2024. “Notably, these controllers are increasingly inclined to use social media platforms such as Telegram as the main channels for recruitment and promotion, attracting target ‘customers’ through initial active promotional activities, laying a solid foundation for the subsequent expansion and development of the botnet.”
The latest findings from Trellix show that Masjesu has marketed the ability to carry…
