Pete, a security analyst, has been tasked with explaining the different types of malware to his colleagues. The two malware types that the group seems to be most interested in are botnets and viruses.

Viruses are not a subset of botnets; they are an independent category of malware that self-replicates by attaching to legitimate files, and a SYN flood attack is a network-layer technique not specific to viruses.

A botnet is a collection of internet-connected devices infected with malware and controlled by a command-and-control server. The coordinated nature of a botnet - potentially comprising thousands or millions of compromised hosts - makes it the primary tool used to launch DDoS attacks by overwhelming a target with traffic from many sources simultaneously. This correctly distinguishes botnets as a subset of malware with a specific use case (DDoS), separate from the self-replicating, file-infecting behavior of viruses.

Creating hidden openings or backdoors within an operating system describes a rootkit or a Trojan, not a virus; viruses are defined by their self-replicating behavior.

Botnets are offensive attack tools used by threat actors and have no role in legitimate disaster recovery operations.