http://www.fbi.gov/pressrel/pressrel07/botnet061307.htm
For Immediate Release
June 13, 2007
Washington D.C.
FBI National Press Office
(202) 324-3691
Over 1 Million Potential Victims of Botnet Cyber Crime
Today the Department of Justice and FBI announced the results of an
ongoing cyber crime initiative to disrupt and dismantle botherders and
elevate the publics cyber security awareness of botnets. OPERATION BOT
ROAST is a national initiative and ongoing investigations have
identified over 1 million victim computer IP addresses. The FBI is
working with our industry partners, including the CERT Coordination
Center at Carnegie Mellon University, to notify the victim owners of the
computers. Through this process the FBI may uncover additional incidents
in which botnets have been used to facilitate other criminal activity.
A botnet is a collection of compromised computers under the remote
command and control of a criminal botherder. Most owners of the
compromised computers are unknowing and unwitting victims. They have
unintentionally allowed unauthorized access and use of their computers
as a vehicle to facilitate other crimes, such as identity theft, denial
of service attacks, phishing, click fraud, and the mass distribution of
spam and spyware. Because of their widely distributed capabilities,
botnets are a growing threat to national security, the national
information infrastructure, and the economy.
The majority of victims are not even aware that their computer has been
compromised or their personal information exploited, said FBI Assistant
Director for the Cyber Division James Finch. 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.
The FBI also wants to thank our industry partners, such as the Microsoft
Corporation and the Botnet Task Force, in referring criminal botnet
activity to law enforcement.
Cyber security tips include updating anti-virus software, installing a
firewall, using strong passwords, practicing good email and web security
practices. Although this will not necessarily identify or remove a
botnet currently on the system, this can help to prevent future botnet
attacks. More information on botnets and tips for cyber crime prevention
can be found online at www.fbi.gov.
The FBI will not contact you online and request your personal
information so be wary of fraud schemes that request this type of
information, especially via unsolicited emails. To report fraudulent
activity or financial scams, contact the nearest FBI office or police
department, and file a complaint online with the Internet Crime
Complaint Center, www.ic3.gov.
To date, the following subjects have been charged or arrested in this
operation with computer fraud and abuse in violation of Title 18 USC
1030, including:
* James C. Brewer of Arlington, Texas, is alleged to have operated a
botnet that infected Chicago area hospitals. This botnet infected tens
of thousands of computers worldwide. (FBI Chicago);
* Jason Michael Downey of Covington, Kentucky, is charged with an
Information with using botnets to send a high volume of traffic to
intended recipients to cause damage by impairing the availability of
such systems. (FBI Detroit); and
* Robert Alan Soloway of Seattle, Washington, is alleged to have used a
large botnet network and spammed tens of millions of unsolicited email
messages to advertise his website from which he offered services and
products. (FBI Seattle)
The FBI will continue to aggressively investigate individuals that
conduct cyber criminal acts.
_____________________________________________________
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