The Mirai botnet is a type of malware that targets Internet of Things (IoT) devices, such as cameras and routers, by exploiting weak security settings. Once infected, these devices become part of a large network (botnet) controlled by cybercriminals. The Mirai botnet is primarily used to launch distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks, overwhelming targeted servers or websites with massive traffic and causing them to become unavailable. First discovered in 2016, Mirai gained notoriety for its role in some of the largest DDoS attacks in history. Its source code was later released publicly, leading to the creation of multiple variants and ongoing threats to IoT security.