Current:Home > MyAuthorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet -PrimeWealth Guides
Authorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet
View
Date:2025-04-17 19:36:39
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! (2)
Related
- Bodycam footage shows high
- Matt Rife postpones several shows after suffering 'extreme exhaustion' on tour
- Another Michigan dairy worker has bird flu, the third US case this year
- What is yerba mate? All about the centuries-old South American tea getting attention.
- Former longtime South Carolina congressman John Spratt dies at 82
- Chipotle insists its portions haven't shrunk, after TikTokers claim they did
- Angelina Jolie and Daughter Vivienne Make Red Carpet Appearance Alongside Kristen Bell
- 1 Malaysian climber dead, 1 rescued near the top of Denali, North America’s tallest mountain
- Bill Belichick's salary at North Carolina: School releases football coach's contract details
- Skeletal remains found in plastic bag in the 1980s identified as woman who was born in 1864
Ranking
- The Grammy nominee you need to hear: Esperanza Spalding
- The Longest-Lasting Lip Gloss I've Ever Used, Dissolving Cleanser Tabs & My Favorite New Beauty Launches
- Ex-mayor in West Virginia admits theft of funds from a hospital where he was CEO
- Trump's New York felony conviction can't keep him from becoming president
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- What it was like in the courtroom as Trump's guilty verdict was read
- A necklace may have saved a man’s life by blocking a bullet
- Trump denounces verdict as a disgrace and vows this is long from over after felony conviction
Recommendation
Charges tied to China weigh on GM in Q4, but profit and revenue top expectations
American Airlines removed Black men from flight after odor complaint, federal lawsuit says
Feds say 13-year-old girl worked at Hyundai plant in Alabama
Officers deny extorting contractor accused of sexually assaulting women for years
Rams vs. 49ers highlights: LA wins rainy defensive struggle in key divisional game
Reading the ‘tea leaves': TV networks vamp for time during the wait for the Donald Trump verdict
Dramatic video shows Texas couple breaking windshield to save man whose truck was being swallowed in flooded ditch
Bruhat Soma wins 2024 Scripps National Spelling Bee