Authorities Turn Sality's P2P Network Against Itself, Cutting Off New Malware Payloads

The US Department of Justice announced the takedown of the Sality peer-to-peer botnet as part of a coordinated law enforcement operation. Authorities from the US, Bulgaria, Hungary, and Romania collaborated with private industry partners CrowdStrike and the Shadowserver Foundation to take down the botnet. The operation was undertaken on August 31, 2026. The takedown involved using Sality's P2P network against itself to cut off new malware payloads. This effort was a joint action between law enforcement and private industry partners. The operation targeted a long-standing botnet.