To evade detection by intrusion detection systems (IDSs) and firewalls, botnets tend to keep their communi- cation patterns (with the bot-master or other bots) quite stealthy. IDSs and Firewalls, which rely on anomalous communication patterns to detect malicious behavior of a host, are not very successful in detecting such botnets. Generating little traffic, such bots ‘lie low’ and thus pass under the radars of IDSs/firewalls.
With the advent of the Internet of Everything, the pos- sibility of malware taking control of ‘smart’ appliances such as television, air-conditioners, refrigerators, etc. will not be limited to theory. In fact, there have been recent reports of ‘smart’ refrigerators and cars being hacked, and wi-fi-enabled LED bulbs having security weaknesses [16]. As the creators of botnets continue to adopt innovative means in creating botnets, detection of stealthy botnets continues to be a challenging paradigm.