Feds: Cyber Criminals Hijacked 4 Million Computers

[DainBramaged]

An Eastern European pack of cyber thieves known as the Rove group hijacked at least four million computers in over 100 countries, including at least half a million computers in the U.S., to make off with $14 million in "illegitimate income" before they were caught, federal officials announced today.

The malware allegedly used in the "massive and sophisticated scheme" also managed to infect computers in U.S. government agencies including NASA and targeted the websites for major institutions like iTunes, Netflix and the IRS -- forcing users attempting to get to those sites to different websites entirely, according to a federal indictment unsealed in New York today.

The accused hackers, six Estonian nationals and a Russian national, rerouted the internet traffic illegally on the infected computers for the last four years in order to reap profits from internet advertisement deals, the indictment said. The FBI busted up the alleged international cyber ring after a two-year investigation called Operation Ghost Click.

"The global reach of these cyber thieves demonstrates that the criminal world is... flat," said Janice Fedarcyk, the FBI Assistant Director in charge of the New York field office. "The Internet is pervasive because it is such a useful tool, but it is a tool that can be exploited by those with bad intentions and a little know-how."

http://news.yahoo.com/feds-cyber-criminals-hijacked-4-million-computers-184840508.html

[tosh]

1. The ROVE group.

An aptly named band of criminals.

[Odin2005]

2. ROVE Group???

:rofl:

[meow2u3]

3. The Rove Group

Does that include the biggest criminal of all, KKKarl? Must be.
:rofl:

[kentauros]

4. I still don't understand why

hackers like that don't go for the offshore banks. I'd think if they are intelligent enough to come up with the means to make this particular scheme work, then they should be intelligent enough to figure out that even just one offshore bank would reap a haul many times that "piddling" $14 million. And considering who they'd be hurting in the process, then why the hell don't they go for it?

[DainBramaged]

5. The penalty for these 'crimes' are minuscule compared to bank fraud

[kentauros]

6. Sure, but if they are doing such crimes at all,

we never hear about it in the news. However, if I was among them, I'd be more afraid of mafia-like retribution from the 1% than any federal or international penalties for such a crime ;)