Current:Home > MyAuthorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet -Ascend Finance Compass
Authorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet
Poinbank Exchange View
Date:2025-04-10 22:05:15
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! (26)
Related
- Current, future North Carolina governor’s challenge of power
- Fearing for Its Future, a Big Utility Pushes ‘Renewable Gas,’ Urges Cities to Reject Electrification
- Atlanta Charts a Path to 100 Percent Renewable Electricity
- Plan to Burn Hurricane Debris Sparks Health Fears in U.S. Virgin Islands
- What do we know about the mysterious drones reported flying over New Jersey?
- Vanderpump Rules' Raquel Leviss Turns on Tom Sandoval and Reveals Secret He Never Wanted Out
- Amazon Reviewers Say This On-Sale Cooling Blanket Really Works
- China’s Dramatic Solar Shift Could Take Sting Out of Trump’s Panel Tariffs
- Have Dry, Sensitive Skin? You Need To Add These Gentle Skincare Products to Your Routine
- Explosive devices detonated, Molotov cocktail thrown at Washington, D.C., businesses
Ranking
- B.A. Parker is learning the banjo
- An Unusual Coalition of Environmental and Industry Groups Is Calling on the EPA to Quickly Phase Out Super-Polluting Refrigerants
- Why Vanderpump Rules' Tom Schwartz Feels Angst Toward Tom Sandoval After Affair
- High-Stakes Fight Over Rooftop Solar Spreads to Michigan
- Residents worried after ceiling cracks appear following reroofing works at Jalan Tenaga HDB blocks
- Election 2018: Clean Energy’s Future Could Rise or Fall with These Governor’s Races
- Utilities Are Promising Net Zero Carbon Emissions, But Don’t Expect Big Changes Soon
- Shannen Doherty Shares Her Cancer Has Spread to Her Brain
Recommendation
Pregnant Kylie Kelce Shares Hilarious Question Her Daughter Asked Jason Kelce Amid Rising Fame
GOP Congressmen Launch ‘Foreign Agent’ Probe Over NRDC’s China Program
Dismissing Trump’s EPA Science Advisors, Regan Says the Agency Will Return to a ‘Fair and Transparent Process’
War on NOAA? A Climate Denier’s Arrival Raises Fears the Agency’s Climate Mission Is Under Attack
Paula Abdul settles lawsuit with former 'So You Think You Can Dance' co
4 dead after small plane crashes near South Carolina golf course
Dismissing Trump’s EPA Science Advisors, Regan Says the Agency Will Return to a ‘Fair and Transparent Process’
Court: Trump’s EPA Can’t Erase Interstate Smog Rules