KEY POINTS:
The FBI has arrested three alleged hackers with over a million potential victims.
Using a botnet, or a collection of compromised computers under the remote control of a "botherder", machines around the world were allegedly attacked by the trio, forming huge networks that were in turn used for other cybercrimes.
Operation Bot Roast is a continuing joint-effort between the FBI and Department of Justice.
Most victims are unaware that they have unwittingly let the botherding hackers into their computers to commit cyber crimes. Identity theft, denial of service attacks, spam and spyware distribution are among the most common.
"The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been compromised or their personal information exploited," said FBI Assistant Director James Finch, Cyber Division.
"An attacker gains control by infecting the computer with a virus or other malicious code and the computer continues to operate normally. Citizens can protect themselves from botnets and the associated schemes by practicing strong computer security habits to reduce the risk that your computer will be compromised."
One of the three arrested on computer fraud and abuse charges was James C Brewer of Arlington, Texas, who is alleged to have operated a botnet that infected Chicago hospital and tens of thousands of machines worldwide.
In Covington, Kentucky, Jason Michael Downey is charged an with "using botnets to send a high volume of traffic to intended recipients to cause damage by impairing the availability of such systems". This is known as a denial of service attack.
Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle is alleged to have used a large botnet network, spamming tens of millions of unsolicited e-mails to advertise his own commercial website.
- NZ HERALD STAFF
