Current:Home > MyAuthorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet -InvestPioneer
Authorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet
View
Date:2025-04-12 23:18:12
WASHINGTON (AP) — An international law enforcement team has arrested a Chinese national and disrupted a major botnet that officials said he ran for nearly a decade, amassing at least $99 million in profits by reselling access to criminals who used it for identity theft, child exploitation, and financial fraud, including pandemic relief scams.
The U.S. Department of Justice quoted FBI Director Christopher Wray as saying Wednesday that the “911 S5” botnet — a network of malware-infected computers in nearly 200 countries — was likely the world’s largest.
Justice said in a news release that Yunhe Wang, 35, was arrested May 24. Wang was arrested in Singapore, and search warrants were executed there and in Thailand, the FBI’s deputy assistant director for cyber operations, Brett Leatherman, said in a LinkedIn post. Authorities also seized $29 million in cryptocurrency, Leatherman said.
Cybercriminals used Wang’s network of zombie residential computers to steal “billions of dollars from financial institutions, credit card issuers and accountholders, and federal lending programs since 2014,” according to an indictment filed in Texas’ eastern district.
The administrator, Wang, sold access to the 19 million Windows computers he hijacked — more than 613,000 in the United States — to criminals who “used that access to commit a staggering array of crimes that victimized children, threatened people’s safety and defrauded financial institutions and federal lending programs,” U.S. Attorney General Merrick Garland said in announcing the takedown.
He said criminals who purchased access to the zombie network from Wang were responsible for more than $5.9 billion in estimated losses due to fraud against relief programs. Officials estimated 560,000 fraudulent unemployment insurance claims originated from compromised IP addresses.
Wang allegedly managed the botnet through 150 dedicated servers, half of them leased from U.S.-based online service providers.
AP AUDIO: Authorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet
Authorities have arrested a man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet. AP’s Lisa Dwyer reports.
The indictment says Wang used his illicit gains to purchase 21 properties in the United States, China, Singapore, Thailand, the United Arab Emirates and St. Kitts and Nevis, where it said he obtained citizenship through investment.
In its news release, the Justice Department thanked police and other authorities in Singapore and Thailand for their assistance.
veryGood! (6)
Related
- NHL in ASL returns, delivering American Sign Language analysis for Deaf community at Winter Classic
- Georgia Senate nominates former senator as fifth member of election board
- Hundreds gather in Ukraine’s capital to honor renowned poet who was also a soldier killed in action
- Homeowner's mysterious overnight visitor is a mouse that tidies his shed
- Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
- Calvin Klein's FKA twigs ad banned in U.K. for presenting singer as 'sexual object'
- DJ Black Coffee injured in 'severe travel accident' while traveling to Argentina
- What is Hezbollah and what does Lebanon have to do with the Israel-Hamas war?
- Off the Grid: Sally breaks down USA TODAY's daily crossword puzzle, Triathlon
- Tennessee governor unveils legislation targeting use of artificial intelligence in music
Ranking
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- Researchers identify a fossil unearthed in New Mexico as an older, more primitive relative of T. rex
- Ukraine’s president in Estonia on swing through Russia’s Baltic neighbors
- Florida's next invasive species? Likely a monkey, report says, following its swimming, deadly cousin
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- New list scores TV, streaming series for on-screen and behind-the-scenes diversity and inclusion
- Taxes after divorce can get . . . messy. Here are seven tax tips for the newly unmarried
- Robert Downey Jr. Reacts to Robert De Niro’s Golden Globes Mix-Up
Recommendation
EU countries double down on a halt to Syrian asylum claims but will not yet send people back
Record 20 million Americans signed up for Affordable Care Act coverage for 2024
Deion Sanders thinks college football changed so much it 'chased the GOAT' Nick Saban away
Hundreds of manatees huddle together for warmth at Three Sisters Springs in Florida: Watch
Sam Taylor
Jonathan Owens Doubles Down on Having “No Clue” Who Simone Biles Was When They Met
Online sports betting arrives in Vermont
Alabama's challenge after Nick Saban: Replacing legendary college football coach isn't easy