Kevin BeaumontFeb 6, 2024

The three million toothbrush botnet story isn’t true.

Here’s the original source of the story: https://archive.is/2024.01.30-203406/https://www.luzernerzeitung.ch/wirtschaft/kriminalitaet-die-zahnbuersten-greifen-an-das-sind-die-aktuellen-cybergefahren-und-so-koennen-sie-sich-schuetzen-ld.2569480

It’s simply a made up example. It doesn’t exist. It starts talking about NoName Ddosia, too, which also isn’t toothbrushes.

Show threadKevin BeaumontFeb 6, 2024
The toothbrush thing has gone viral despite it being total bollocks.
Show threadKevin BeaumontFeb 7, 2024

Now NoName have picked up the fake toothbrush story as propaganda for their members.

Good job, Fortigate.

Show threadKevin BeaumontFeb 7, 2024
Fortigate haven’t replied to my PR question about it. Given this is several times the size of the world’s biggest botnet, you’d think they’d have any evidence.. at all.
Show threadKevin BeaumontFeb 7, 2024
Show threadKevin BeaumontFeb 7, 2024

Kudos to @BleepingComputer for doing actual journalism.

Fortinet also declined to comment to me.

It's a completely made up story, which is now being circulated as Russian propaganda.
https://www.bleepingcomputer.com/news/security/the-unlikely-3-million-electric-toothbrush-ddos-attack/

The unlikely 3 million electric toothbrush DDoS attack

A widely reported story that 3 million electric toothbrushes were hacked with malware to conduct distributed denial of service (DDoS) attacks is likely a hypothetical scenario instead of an actual attack.

BleepingComputer
Show threadKevin BeaumontFeb 7, 2024
Fortigate have issued me a statement. The toothbrush DDoS story is completely made up.
Show threadKevin BeaumontFeb 7, 2024
I’d like to thank all the Mastodon reply guys in the thread who decided the story was real, btw, based on vibes.
Show threadNihl L'Amas
@GossiTheDog Vibes are the best way to evaluate electric toothbrushes.
Feb 7, 2024 at 11:32pmTusky