![from left: Gloria Eichler, CPO at smartclip, Christian Osterhues, VP of People & Culture, and Shira Leffel, VP of Marketing & Product Education at smartclip](https://smartclip.wpenginepowered.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/06/preview-leadership-thumbnail-smartclip-new-1.jpg)
7 June 2024
Last modified: 14 March, 2022
A type of sophisticated invalid traffic (SIVT), a bot network (or botnet) is a network of computer devices that have been hijacked for fraudulent purposes. Cybercriminals introduce malware to a networked device, via email or other internet use, and then infect other linked devices to take control of the entire network. They then either defraud the network owner – for example, via their access to confidential information or financial details – or use the ‘zombie’ network to carry out further scams.