Mytob and the merged worm-bot trajectory
Mytob variants have proliferated through 2005, merging mass-mailing worm propagation with IRC-bot command-and-control. The hybrid is structurally important.
DDoS extortion against online gambling
DDoS extortion has matured into a structural problem for the online-gambling sector. The attacks combine bot infrastructure, demand notes, and consequences specifically calibrated for the targets.
Phatbot and the modular-bot trajectory
Phatbot/Agobot is currently the most visible IRC-controlled bot family. The source has been semi-public for some time; new variants appear weekly; the architecture is structurally important.