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RUSSIAN SPAM MASTERMIND JAILED FOR CREATING BOTNET
BBC
24 May 2012
A cybercrime mastermind who hijacked the PCs of more than 30 million
people has been jailed for four years.
Russian hi-tech criminal Georgiy Avanesov was found guilty of computer
sabotage by an Armenian court.
Mr Avanesov was tried and sentenced in Armenia, as he was arrested
at the country's Yerevan airport in 2010.
The authorities closed in on Mr Avanesov after they took and dismantled
the network of computers he controlled.
Bredolab began operating in 2009 and Mr Avanesov used a variety of
techniques, including automated attacks and phishing messages, to
expand it. A network of hijacked machines run in this way is known
as a botnet and they have become the staple of many hi-tech criminals.
At its height, the Bredolab botnet - as it was called by security
investigators - was sending out more than three billion junk mail
messages a day. The network was also hired out to others cyber
criminals who used it to carry out attacks on websites, advertise
fake anti-virus programs and send out their own spam and viruses.
By sending out spam and doing work for hire, Bredolab reportedly
produced a revenue of about 100,000 euros (£80,000) a month for its
27-year-old creator.
In October 2010, Dutch police gained control of the Bredolab botnet and
began taking it apart to reveal who was controlling it. Mr Avanesov
tried to hamper this investigation using a web-based attack on the
police but the attempt to regain control of Bredolab failed.
His arrest followed soon after.
The trial is a milestone for Armenia as it is reportedly the first
time the country has convicted a computer criminal.
From: Baghdasarian
BBC
24 May 2012
A cybercrime mastermind who hijacked the PCs of more than 30 million
people has been jailed for four years.
Russian hi-tech criminal Georgiy Avanesov was found guilty of computer
sabotage by an Armenian court.
Mr Avanesov was tried and sentenced in Armenia, as he was arrested
at the country's Yerevan airport in 2010.
The authorities closed in on Mr Avanesov after they took and dismantled
the network of computers he controlled.
Bredolab began operating in 2009 and Mr Avanesov used a variety of
techniques, including automated attacks and phishing messages, to
expand it. A network of hijacked machines run in this way is known
as a botnet and they have become the staple of many hi-tech criminals.
At its height, the Bredolab botnet - as it was called by security
investigators - was sending out more than three billion junk mail
messages a day. The network was also hired out to others cyber
criminals who used it to carry out attacks on websites, advertise
fake anti-virus programs and send out their own spam and viruses.
By sending out spam and doing work for hire, Bredolab reportedly
produced a revenue of about 100,000 euros (£80,000) a month for its
27-year-old creator.
In October 2010, Dutch police gained control of the Bredolab botnet and
began taking it apart to reveal who was controlling it. Mr Avanesov
tried to hamper this investigation using a web-based attack on the
police but the attempt to regain control of Bredolab failed.
His arrest followed soon after.
The trial is a milestone for Armenia as it is reportedly the first
time the country has convicted a computer criminal.
From: Baghdasarian