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"Botmaster" admits infecting 250,000 computers |
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"Botmaster" admits infecting 250,000 computers
10 Nov 2007 - A Los Angeles man on Friday admitted infecting 250,000 computers and stealing the identities of thousands of people by wiretapping their communications and accessing their bank accounts.
John Schiefer, 26, agreed to plead guilty to four counts of fraud and
wiretap charges that could lead to a $1.75 million fine and send him to
prison for up to 60 years, the Los Angeles U.S. Attorney's office said.
Prosecutors said Schiefer and an unspecified number of conspirators
installed malicious computer codes that acted as a wiretap on
compromised computers and intercepted messages to www.paypal.com and
similar Web sites.
He retrieved usernames and passwords and used them to access an unknown
number of bank accounts. Prosecutors said they were still investigating
how much money was stolen and the number of victims.
They said Schiefer worked by day as an information security consultant
but was a well-known "Botmaster" among the underground network of
hackers skilled in so-called "botnet attacks."
A bot is a program that surreptitiously installs itself on computer so
a hacker can control it. A botnet is a network of such computers that
can harness their collective powers to wreak havoc.
In another scheme, Schiefer installed malicious codes on computers
running Microsoft operating systems, causing them to disgorge usernames
and passwords from a secure area that led him to access the victims'
bank accounts.
Schiefer also admitted defrauding the Dutch Internet advertising
company Simpel Internet, who signed him up as a consultant, of more
than $19,000. He installed his spyware program on approximately 150,000
of the Dutch company's computers.
He is expected to be arraigned on December 3.
Original Article: http://www.reuters.com/article/domesticNews/idUSN0823938120071110
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