BrickerBot was malware that attempted to permanently destroy ("brick") insecure Internet of Things devices.
BrickerBot's method of attack was to brute-force the telnet password, then run commands using BusyBox to corrupt MMC and MTD storage, delete all files, and disconnect the device from the Internet.
Less than an hour after the initial attack, bots began sending a slightly different set of malicious commands, indicating a new version, BrickerBot.2.
BrickerBot.2 used the Tor network to hide its location, did not rely on the presence of busybox on the target, and was able to corrupt more types of storage devices.
[4] In an interview with Bleeping Computer, Janit0r stated that BrickerBot was intended to prevent devices from being infected by Mirai.