2008-03-01
Abstract
Botherder arrests, court appearances and convictions.
Copyright © 2008 Virus Bulletin
Canadian police have rounded up 17 people suspected of participating in a significant botnet operation. Following an investigation that began in 2006, officers from the Sûreté du Québec and the Royal Canadian Mounted Police arrested the 17 suspects last month in 12 towns across Québec.
Charges against the suspects - whose ages range from 17 to 26 - include illegally obtaining computer services, hacking computer data and the possession of passwords for the purpose of committing crimes. If convicted, the accused could each face up to 10 years in prison.
Meanwhile, in the US a youth has pled guilty to controlling as many as 400,000 PCs with the intention of infecting users with adware. The young man, who uses the handle 'SoBe', was still a teenager at the time of his crimes, yet together with his accomplice managed to earn close to $58,000 in just over a year. His accomplice, Jeanson James Ancheta, has already started serving a 57-month federal prison sentence for his role in the crime. 'SoBe', who will be sentenced in May, faces up to 15 years in prison.
Finally, 18-year-old New Zealander Owen Thorn Walker, who is suspected of being the ringleader behind an enormous botnet operation has appeared in a New Zealand court. Walker, who uses the handle 'Akill', is believed to have been behind a botnet of 1.3 million computers and was arrested in November following an operation involving local police as well as authorities in the Netherlands and the FBI. Charges against Walker include two counts of accessing a computer for dishonest purposes, two counts of accessing a computer system without permission, and a single count of damaging a computer system as well as possessing hacking software. If convicted Walker faces up to 10 years imprisonment.
