Microsoft Identifies Pair Involved in Running ZeuS Botnet

Microsoft has declared 2 persons' identities from the total 39 against whom it has filed a lawsuit on suspicion that they were running the Zeus network-of-bots, published scmagazine.com.au dated July 3, 2012.

While filing a modified civil complaint inside the Brooklyn District Court of USA, Microsoft Inc., during the end-week of June 2012, announced the names of Yuriy Konovalenko and Yevhen Kulibaba the two defendants. Rest 37 continues to be indexed as "John Does."

It's little astonishing that the pair was recognized given that Konovalenko and Kulibaba both from Ukraine belonged to a group of 19 accused during 2010 inside London for representing the ZeuS band. Already Konovalenko and Kulibaba are in prison in UK on charges associated with other ZeuS operations, states Microsoft.

Moreover according to the complaint, the duo, while running Botnet ZeuS, employed the malware for presenting altered/bogus Internet sites to victims attempting at accessing original banking websites, intercepting keyboard activities for seizing identification details of those people followed with exploiting the details for filching funds out of their accounts.

Senior Attorney Richard Domingues Boscovich with the Digital Crimes Unit of Microsoft stated that despite best efforts, his client company couldn't spot the rest of the defendants i.e. John Does. However, according to him, Konovalenko and Kulibaba would be pursued just as the John Does via the modified complaint. Cnet.com published this dated July 2, 2012.

Boscovich further stated that the C&C servers of the ZeuS botnet were currently disabled, which was Microsoft's goal, while it was expected that the disabled servers' clues would help in the criminal investigation.

The Attorney noted that with the botnet's successful shutdown, the total contaminated computers had declined to 336,393 during the end-week of June 2012 from 779,816 during March 2012. Additionally, spam mails, supposedly from the Electronic Payments Association, the ZeuS controllers distributed too fell 90%-or-so. Theregister.co.uk published this dated July 3, 2012.

Boscovich concluded that Microsoft along with its financial industry alliances desired assisting innocent computer-users towards remaining safeguarded via halting the ZeuS botnet, while escalating the expenses associated with running the network for the crooks. V3.co.uk published this dated July 2, 2012.

Related article: Microsoft Counters Cybersquatters

» SPAMfighter News - 7/10/2012