FBI’s ‘Operation Bot Roast’ Set to Bring Around Hackers

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) said that it would act against those who hack others' computers in its ongoing probing into cases relating to individuals who plant malicious software on the Web through botnets.

The agency said that it was working with New Zealand authorities and the US Secret Service and in one case has recently raided the New Zealand home of a person who identifies himself as 'AKILL" on the Internet and who is suspected to lead a global cyber crime ring that has infected over one million PCs.

According to Maarten Kleinjtes, Manager of the New Zealand Police Electronic Crime Laboratory, the 18-year-old suspect had created software capable of infiltrating computers and taking over their control. This implies he could render his services to others suiting their requirements, and cause cyber havoc. The New Zealand Herald published this on November 30, 2007.

Since the launch of the ongoing investigation, 'Operation Bot Roast' in June 2007 by FBI and the other agencies, eight persons have been legally charged who have admitted guilt in court or have been penalized for botnet-related crimes. The recent New Zealand raid and the case in Philadelphia were maneuvered under Bot Roast II. Search warrants numbering to 13 have been issued in United States and overseas as part of the operation for which seven field offices of the FBI have participated.

Botnets are capable of launching attacks to cause denial of service situations that could crash systems and networks or deliver annoying and voluminous spam mails. Earlier in November 2007, a Philadelphia jury indicted Ryan Goldstein because he allegedly launched a denial of service attack on the computer system of the University of Pennsylvania.

In a statement, Robert S., Director of FBI, said that botnets are the current weapon that cyber criminals prefer. InformationWeek published Robert's statement on November 29, 2007.

During January to June 2007, leading computer security firm Symantec Corp. identified over five million computers that were bot-infected and which carried out a minimum of one attack every day. The infected computers were most in China at 29% with United States following at 13%, according to Symantec's September report.

Related article: FBI’s ICCC Annual Report Discusses Fraudulent and Non-Fraudulent Complaints

» SPAMfighter News - 12/18/2007