Three years for botnet master
Zombie herder sentenced to 37 months behind bars.
A Californian 21-year-old has been sent to a federal prison in the US, after being convicted of computer fraud and
computer damage charges. The man, along with two underage accomplices, created and ran several sizeable botnets,
infecting over half a million machines. They were used to scan for more vulnerable targets and to spread adware,
netting over $100,000. Victims testifying at the trial included a hospital, a school district and the US Department
of Defense.
The judge in the case hoped for an even tougher sentence as an example to other criminals, but settled for three years
in light of the man's youth and lack of previous convictions. Following the prison sentence, he will serve a further
three years of probation, as well as paying several hefty fines to his victims. In his defence, the man stated that he
didn't understand the consequences of his actions.
'This should serve as a sharp warning to the digital underworld that this type of crime is being taken more seriously,'
said John Hawes, Technical Consultant at Virus Bulletin. 'Botnets are the plague of the internet, the source of most of
the spam and other nasties wasting our computer time and trying to drain our wallets. This sort of sentence should be a
bare minimum for those who create and control them.'
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29 August 2006
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