Law enforcement agencies from around the world have shut down a global malware network which stole $5.9bn (\u00a34.65bn) and is linked to other crimes, the US Department of Justice (DOJ) has said.<\/b><\/p>\n
The DOJ partnered with the FBI and other international agencies to take down what was “likely the world\u2019s largest botnet ever\u201d.<\/p>\n
Chinese national YunHe Wang, who is also a St Kitts and Nevis citizen, has been charged with creating and operating the network.<\/p>\n
A botnet is a network of computers which have been infected with malware and are being controlled by a malicious actor.<\/p>\n
Mr Wang is charged with conspiracy to commit computer fraud, substantive computer fraud, conspiracy to commit wire fraud and conspiracy to commit money laundering.<\/p>\n
If convicted on all counts, he faces a maximum penalty of 65 years in prison.<\/p>\n
According to the indictment, between 2014 to 2022, Mr Wang and others created and operated the botnet, called 911 S5, from about 150 servers around the world.<\/p>\n
The botnet hacked into more than 19 million Internet Protocol (IP) addresses in almost 200 countries, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
An IP address is a unique code that identifies a device on the internet or network.<\/p>\n
The botnet was used to carry out cyber attacks, large-scale fraud, child exploitation, harassment, bomb threats and export violations, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
The US estimated that more than half a million fraudulent unemployment insurance claims had originated from compromised IP addresses, resulting in a loss of more than $5.9bn.<\/p>\n
The network also enabled cybercriminals to buy goods with stolen credit cards or launder money, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
Mr Wang allegedly sold access to the IP addresses and received approximately $99m, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
He allegedly bought property in the US, St Kitts and Nevis, China, Singapore, Thailand and the United Arab Emirates.<\/p>\n
Assets worth a total of around $60m have been seized or identified for seizure, including a Ferrari, a Rolls-Royce and several watches, the DOJ said.<\/p>\n
Law enforcement agencies in Singapore and Thailand, as well technology giant Microsoft, were among the organisations that helped with the investigation.<\/p>\n
Source: bbc.co.uk<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"