Malware Command & Control via IRC

Sometimes it is so wonderful to see old fashions come back into vogue, at other times it can re-create nightmares if the old fashions were really bad in the first place. The idea of control bots or automated programs via internet relay chat servers or IRC as they are commonly know is at least 20 year old if not more. Now days when we are taught in SANS GREM courses that such techniques are used, it makes you wonder.... :-)

A fairly basic and easy to understand overview of such malware command and control techniques are given here

http://www.nsci-va.org/WhitePapers/2010-12-30-Malware%20C2%20Overview-Stephens.pdf