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Chapter 5
Botnets and the eCrime
Cycle: The iSIGHT
Partners’ Approach
By 2008, eCrime was taking place through three distinct phases: credential col-
lection, monetization, and laundering. Figure 5.1 illustrates how these three are
related in a constant cycle of eCrime operations. ese three phases are the pillars of
the criminal underground marketplace where illicit goods and services are bought
and sold.
What used to be child’s play, Trojan “fun stuff,” petty theft, and denial of ser-
vice attacks against adversary hacker sites have turned into sophisticated organized
c
rime activities and massive profits in the twenty-first century. Understand