What term describes a device infected by a Trojan and controlled remotely by an attacker?

• A. Zombie
• B. Bot
• C. Drone
• D. Host

Answer: (A)

In botnets, a machine that has been compromised by malware and is under the attacker’s remote control is described as a zombie. The Trojan opens a backdoor or creates covert access, turning the device into a under-the-radar participant that can be commanded to carry out tasks such as sending spam or launching a DDoS attack. The term zombie emphasizes both the infected state and the lack of the user’s control.

The software on that machine that actually executes the attacker’s commands is called a bot, so while the infected device hosts a bot, the device itself is best described as a zombie. The term drone isn’t the standard label in this context, and a host is too generic and doesn’t explicitly convey the malicious control aspect.