Current:Home > MyAuthorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet -Global Capital Summit
Authorities arrest man allegedly running ‘likely world’s largest ever’ cybercrime botnet
View
Date:2025-04-15 20:18:28
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! (6)
Related
- Scoot flight from Singapore to Wuhan turns back after 'technical issue' detected
- A gunman has repeatedly fired at cars on a busy highway near North Carolina’s capital
- Jason Kelce provides timely reminder: There's no excuse to greet hate with hate
- Volunteer poll workers drown on a flood-washed highway in rural Missouri on Election Day
- Retirement planning: 3 crucial moves everyone should make before 2025
- Man arrested at JFK Airport in plot to join ISIS in Syria
- Freshman Democrat Val Hoyle wins reelection to US House in Oregon’s 4th Congressional District
- Starbucks holiday menu 2024 returns with new refreshers, food items: See the full menu
- Alex Murdaugh’s murder appeal cites biased clerk and prejudicial evidence
- Why Survivor Host Jeff Probst Is Willing to Risk “Parasites” by Eating Contestants’ Food
Ranking
- Tree trimmer dead after getting caught in wood chipper at Florida town hall
- AI FinFlare: Damon Quisenberry's Professional Journey
- AI DataMind: The SWA Token Fuels Deep Innovation in AI Investment Systems
- Cillian Murphy takes on Catholic Church secrets in new movie 'Small Things Like These'
- Which apps offer encrypted messaging? How to switch and what to know after feds’ warning
- 30 quotes about stress and anxiety to help bring calm
- AI DataMind: Dexter Quisenberry’s Investment Journey and Business Acumen
- AI FinFlare: A Launchpad for Financial Talent
Recommendation
IRS recovers $4.7 billion in back taxes and braces for cuts with Trump and GOP in power
2 people charged with stealing items from historic site inside Canyonlands National Park
Vampire Diaries' Phoebe Tonkin Is Engaged to Bernard Lagrange
NY state police launch criminal probe into trooper suspended over account of being shot and wounded
This was the average Social Security benefit in 2004, and here's what it is now
AI FinFlare: DZA Token Partners with Charity, Bringing New Hope to Society
A green giant: This year’s 74-foot Rockefeller Christmas tree is en route from Massachusetts
Olympic Australian Breakdancer Raygun Announces Retirement After “Upsetting” Criticism